Gulf economies
in the energy transition era
Economic Diversification
Tourism, logistics, technology, finance, manufacturing and agriculture are some of the industries deemed promising and strategic by the Gulf Arab states in a bid to attenuate the correlation of their economies to the volatility of oil prices.
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Young Omanis see the booming tourism industry as an opportunity, despite lower job security - The National, United Arab Emirates.
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Gulf super-connector airlines had flourished at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe, then the Covid-19 crisis hit. Simultaneously, Saudi Arabia took the race for Gulf economic leadership to the sky.
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Dubai's trade hub diversified the emirate's economy, can Oman replicate this success in Duqm - Kansan Uutiset, Finland.
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Oman's shifts from artisanal fleets to modern ones, betting on fisheries to diversify its economy - Asia Times, Hong Kong.
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Qatar’s growing farming industry, driven by ambitious self-sufficiency policy, risk further groundwater depletion - L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon.
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Meet the oyster farmer who launched the Middle East's first shellfish farm in the United Arab Emirates - VICE, France.
Energy Industry
Global vehicle electrification is unlikely to crash oil demand in the short term, which is increasingly driven by the consumption of products made from oil, such as plastic items. Beyond expanding their petrochemical capacities, the Gulf states invest in hydrogen production, as well as solar and wind energy, to retain their position as global energy suppliers.​
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Gulf oil exporters bet on being the last man standing, despite U.S. President’s green energy platform - Al-Monitor, United States.
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Why Gulf states lag behind on renewables while having some of the highest solar exposures in the world? - Al-Monitor, United States.
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Gulf states’ quest to find ‘new oil’ turns to hydrogen, in part to leverage significant gas reserves - Al-Monitor, United States.
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Oil giant Saudi Aramco escaped ESG scrutiny and mislead investors’ climate risk assessments - Al-Monitor, United States.
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Qatar LNG expansion plan turns the spotlight back on the industry's dirty secret: methane emissions - Al-Monitor, United States.
Sovereign Wealth Fund
Gulf's state-owned investment funds control more than two trillion dollars, invested domestically and internationally. The mandate of these oil-revenues-funded entities, such as Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, play a key role to build local economies tailored for a decarbonising world.
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Assets held by Oman's sovereign wealth fund are under pressure as the indebted sultanate is piling up debt - Al-Monitor, United States.
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Gulf’s sovereign wealth funds turn inward to invest locally, helping local entrepreneurs to diversify the economy - Orient XXI, France.
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Oman Investment Authority takes control of state-owned entities to end "a public servant mindset" - Al-Monitor, United States.
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Emirati sovereign wealth funds eye Israel's renewables and agri-tech sectors to bring expertise back home - Haaretz, Israel.
Labour Market
Asian and African migrant workers account for the vast majority of private-sector employees in the Gulf states. On the other hand, nationals favour employments in the public sector, creating unbalanced labour markets.
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By letting go of thousands of foreign experts, Oman risks losing the know-how key to its diversification - Al-Monitor, United States.
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During the Covid-19 pandemic, Gulf states sheltered their citizens and left migrant workers on their own - Le Courrier, Switzerland.
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How the Covid-19 crisis exposed the epic moral failure of migrant-workers-built Gulf states - Haaretz, Israel.
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Gulf's double standards pensions systems - Orient XXI, France.
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Short-term gains, transient lifestyle - Al-Monitor, United States.
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Where is Malcolm? Qatar charges workers’ rights champion over ‘spreading disinformation’ - The Independent, United Kingdom.
Public Debt
Most Gulf states have failed to balance their annual budget ever since the 2014 oil price slump, pushing governments on a borrowing binge to plug budget gaps. Oman's debt to GDP jumped from 5 to 80% in just six years.
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Public debts are piling up at breakneck speed in the Sultanate of Oman, a small non-OPEC Gulf oil producer - Zenith, Germany.
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Oman weighs costs of bailout from Gulf neighbours to tackle the erosion of its fiscal balance - Al-Monitor, United States.
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For borrowings to be more productive, Saudi Arabia still faces a problem: its economy is not diversified yet - Al-Monitor, United States.
