Oxford Economics: GCC economies will grow twice the global ‎rate in 2023‎

Oxford Economics revealed that it expects the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to grow at more than twice the pace of the global economy next year, despite the slowdown in the regional economy after two years of exceptionally strong growth, as the Gulf region will remain a magnet for investors in 2023, with the demand for real estate remaining strong.

“Capital Economics” research center said that the decline in oil production will affect Kuwaiti economic growth, as in the Sultanate of Oman and Bahrain, by 2023, indicating that fiscal policy will be less supportive of non-oil sectors compared to other Gulf countries.

The GCC economies are closing 2022 on a good note, posting the strongest year in terms of GDP growth in more than a decade.

In this context, Maya Senussi, chief economist at Oxford Economics, expressed her expectations that the pace of growth will slow in 2023, although it will remain strongly positive, unlike many developed and emerging markets.

She added that she estimates that the regional gross domestic product will rise by more than 7% in 2022, and by about 2.9% next year, in the midst of many advanced and emerging economies slipping into a state of moderate recession.

She said that the region’s gross domestic product will grow at more than twice the expected pace of the global economy, however, this growth – in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries – will remain higher than the average of its counterpart in the five years preceding the “Corona” epidemic.

Oxford Economics expected that the non-oil sector would once again lead the recovery in the GCC region next year, as optimism remains particularly linked to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s policies supporting expansion in key sectors.

Senussi expects that budget spending will provide decisive support to the non-oil sectors in the GCC countries next year, as she said: “Given the dependence of regional budgets on oil and gas revenues, their financial conditions have improved significantly in 2022.”