IIF sees widening gulf in Arab economies - FT.com

The fallout from a year of Arab revolts will further deepen divergent economic outcomes for the region’s oil exporters versus importers, according to a report released on Thursday.

The Institute for International Finance said oil-exporting Arab states would see growth speed up to 6.5 per cent by the end of the year on higher crude prices, but that the region’s oil-importers – including Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan and Morocco – would face an average contraction of 0.4 per cent.

Serious difficulties surrounding transitions into post-revolutionary eras in Egypt and Tunisia were undermining economic performance, prompting the need for governments to deepen economic reforms and limit fiscal deficits, according to the IIF, an association of global financial institutions.

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