Mideast better than emerging economies

Dead Sea, Jordan: Middle East economies are "doing a lot better" than other emerging markets as oil producers maintain spending on infrastructure projects, International Monetary Fund Mideast Director Masoud Ahmad said.

"Oil producers have continued to spend during the downturn," Ahmad said in an interview yesterday at the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea in Jordan. "If oil prices are to stay low for a very long time, or if the global recession continues, then you may find that they will no longer be able to spend quite the same."

Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy and world's largest oil exporter, said it will have a 65-billion-riyal (Dh62.44 billion) deficit this year as the kingdom maintains fiscal spending to build infrastructure and create jobs. The Saudi government plans to spend $400 billion over the next five years to stimulate the economy.

Remittances and tourism revenue in the Middle East are "holding up," Ahmad said. Expatriates sent $31 billion home to the region last year, a figure expected to drop to $29 billion this year, the IMF said in a May 10 report.

The economies of the world's three biggest oil producers, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, will contract as lower energy prices force production cuts and tighter credit availability squeezes the private sector, the IMF said this month.

Oil prices have fallen about $90 a barrel from a July high of $147.47 a barrel.