FILE: A billboard urges people to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Apr 15, 2020. DUBAI: Middle East economies are recovering from the coronavirus pandemic faster than anticipated, largely due to the acceleration of mass inoculation campaigns and an increase in oil prices.
The IMF expects economic growth to reach 4 per cent for the Middle East this year. But that rosy outlook papers over the region's deep economic divides. The UAE has launched among the world's fastest inoculation campaigns, with over 90 doses administered per 100 residents as of this week. Still, the collapse of hospitality, tourism and retail presents challenges for glitzy Dubai, where a cascade of layoffs hit foreign workers and slashed the emirate's population by 8.4 per cent, according to ratings agency S&P Global.
Meanwhile, many countries' beleaguered health systems are straining under resurgent waves of infections, prompting authorities to impose new restrictions and inflict more economic pain. A giant explosion at the Beirut port last year wreaked havoc on the capital. Discussions with the IMF led nowhere after the Cabinet quit.
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