The numbers contradict doomsayers
The private sector had almost $60 billion in investments in the 2016-2018 period, according to a tally by InfoPro Research. Despite doomsayers’ warnings about a looming fiscal and economic collapse, the financial system is still standing and the economy is not shrinking. It is growing, albeit at a smaller rate. Some economic indicators have been improving over the last three years while others didn’t witness any significant deterioration. The private sector continues to provide jobs and opportunities. The negative sentiment didn’t stand in the way of private sector investments, which reached $3.1 billion over the last three years, according to InfoPro Research. Investment in residential real estate projects totaled $7.8 billion over the same period, while real estate sales transactions amounted to $26.5 billion. Customer deposits in the banking sector, including both commercial and investment banks, increased by $21.6 billion over the three year period.
GROWTH TO IMPROVE IN 2019
A recovery is expected in 2019 following three years of decelerating growth which reached a real growth rate of 0.2 percent last year, according to World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates. Real GDP growth forecasts for 2019 by the WB, the IMF, and Bank Audi range from one to 2.4 percent. , Group Chief Economist and Head of Research at Bank Audi said that, according to their own research, real GDP growth is projected to rise two to 2.5
