IMF urges region to cut cloth to fit straitened times

The International Monetary Fund delivered a sombre message in its just-released Middle East outlook: the region is heading for renewed growth but it will take a long time before it feels like a recovery.

The business community in oil-producing countries will have taken heart from the projection of 4 per cent economic growth in 2010 following this year’s expected 2 per cent contraction.

For oil importers, the picture is somewhat better, with real growth dropping this year to 3.5 per cent from 5 per cent in 2008 and remaining flat in 2010.