Fiscal plans announced across the Gulf over the past month suggest that governments will keep policy tight, a key reason why we think that economic growth will disappoint this year. The Saudi 2020 budget outlined that expenditure would be cut by nearly 10% over the coming years. Similarly, in Qatar and Kuwait, 2020 budgets showed little increase in spending. Oman’s new Sultan Haitham has been quick to announce the imposition of a value-added tax from 2021 to repair the country’s weak balance sheets. The one exception to all of this is the UAE, where the authorities are set to implement fiscal stimulus in order to support the struggling economy.
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