Citi sees new UAE, GCC opportunities as economies recover | Banking – Gulf News
Large-scale fiscal and structural reforms being undertaken by the governments across the Middle East and North Africa, especially the GCC will create new opportunities for financial services, Elissar Farah Antonios as Head of the MENA Cluster and Citi Country Officer (CCO) for the UAE told Gulf News in an interview.
The sharp economic contraction across the region caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and a prolonged slump in oil prices have driven home the urgency of fiscal reforms to balance budgets, structural reforms to diversify the economies away from hydrocarbon dependence and reforms at the public sector, government related entities (GREs) and large corporates to bring in more efficiency and scale.
Drive towards efficiency
The pandemic has made many regional sovereigns, GREs and large companies to think hard on how to be more efficient.
“There has been a lot of focus on simplification of public sector, creating efficiencies, monetisation and creating synergies. We have been witnessing large mergers & acquisitions (M&A) deals over the past 12 to 18 months. Clearly, the two markets that are leading such transaction are the UAE and Saudi Arabia,” said Antonios.
She sees this as just the beginning of a larger trend in the region and expects a lot of opportunities for regional governments and the private sector to create further efficiencies.
Saturday 3 April 2021
IATA urges Gulf gov'ts to develop 're-start plans' as airline losses exceed $7bn - Arabianbusiness
IATA urges Gulf gov'ts to develop 're-start plans' as airline losses exceed $7bn - Arabianbusiness
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on governments in the Middle East to develop re-start plans to safely re-link their citizens, businesses and economies to global markets when the Covid-19 pandemic permits.
IATA also called for regional coordination to ensure that the plans can be efficiently implemented and urged governments to remain vigilant about the industry’s financial situation.
IATA data shows January air passenger traffic in the region was down 82.3 percent compared to January 2019, adding that the ongoing crisis puts over 1.7 million jobs in the Middle East and $105 billion in GDP at risk.
In 2020, Middle East airlines posted losses of $7.1 billion, a loss of $68.47 for each passenger flown. With traffic at less than 20 percent of 2019 levels, the cash burn continues even with severe cost-cutting.
Airlines in the region received $4.8 billion in government aid in 2020. Most of this support ($4.1 billion) was distributed through direct cash injections. Despite this, several airlines in the Middle East remain at risk of bankruptcy or business administration, IATA warned.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on governments in the Middle East to develop re-start plans to safely re-link their citizens, businesses and economies to global markets when the Covid-19 pandemic permits.
IATA also called for regional coordination to ensure that the plans can be efficiently implemented and urged governments to remain vigilant about the industry’s financial situation.
IATA data shows January air passenger traffic in the region was down 82.3 percent compared to January 2019, adding that the ongoing crisis puts over 1.7 million jobs in the Middle East and $105 billion in GDP at risk.
In 2020, Middle East airlines posted losses of $7.1 billion, a loss of $68.47 for each passenger flown. With traffic at less than 20 percent of 2019 levels, the cash burn continues even with severe cost-cutting.
Airlines in the region received $4.8 billion in government aid in 2020. Most of this support ($4.1 billion) was distributed through direct cash injections. Despite this, several airlines in the Middle East remain at risk of bankruptcy or business administration, IATA warned.
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