The National Bank of Kuwait expected that the Bahraini economy will witness a return to moderate growth this year at a rate of approximately 2 percent, in light of the easing of the closure restrictions due to the rapid pace of vaccination, explaining that the fiscal deficit is likely to narrow to 7.2 percent of GDP during 2021, then it amounts to 4 percent of GDP during 2022-2023, down from its estimated 13 percent for 2020.
According to the report, the debt rates will remain high, exceeding 100 percent of GDP during the projection period, which puts the financial reform among the priorities that must be implemented once the repercussions of the pandemic recede, indicating that inflation may rise by only about 1 percent during 2021 in light of a prospective slowdown of the real estate rentals. The report expected that the economic recovery will be gradual, with a 2 percent increase in gross domestic product during 2021, then a growth of 3.9 percent, on average, during 2022-2023. According to the report, the non-oil growth is expected to reach 3.6 percent during 2021, supported by the rapid pace of vaccine distribution, which covered about a quarter of the population by mid-March, and could reach more than 60 percent by the end of August. Noting that Bahrain came in the first ranks among the best performing countries in distributing vaccines.
Source (Al-Rai Newspaper-Kuwait, Edited)
