Household net wealth in the Middle East and North Africa region is forecast to rise annually by 8.8 per cent in the next five years, according to a report by Credit Suisse.
Total wealth in Mena, which grew 156 per cent between 2000 and mid-2017, expanded faster than the global average of 140 per cent during the same period, Switzerland’s second-largest bank said.
Global wealth, which has slowed to an annual pace of 3.8 per cent since 2009 compared to 9.5 per cent before 2008, is projected to grow at an average of 3.9 per cent annually in the next five years and reach US$341 trillion. The Mena region’s wealth per adult, minus debt, rose by 1.9 per cent between mid-2017 and mid-2016, compared with the global average of 6.4 per cent, the lender said.
While Credit Suisse did not cite a reason for the region’s lacklustre performance, lower oil prices in the Arabian Gulf region have shrunk the region’s wealth creation.
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Qatar had the highest wealth per adult of $102,517 in mid-2017, a 0.2 per cent drop on a year earlier.
It was followed by Kuwait with $97,300, a 1.4 per cent increase on mid-2016 and the UAE with $78,800, a growth of 1.2 per cent.
Wealth per adult in Saudi Arabia reached $35,000, a 2.8 per cent increase, while Egypt reported a 50.2 per cent plunge because of the devaluation of the pound in November last year, when the currency lost half of its value.
In terms of total wealth or net household wealth, Saudi Arabia topped the ranking, with an estimated $772 billion, followed by the UAE with $603bn, Qatar with $292bn, and Kuwait with $218bn.
Meanwhile Egypt’s wealth plummeted to $178bn after peaking at $511bn in 2010, before the 2011 onset of the Arab Spring revolution.
Globally, between mid-2017 and mid-2016 wealth rose to $280tn, the fastest pace since 2012.
Global wealth growth outperformed growth of population during the period, with wealth per adult rising 4.9 per cent and raising the global mean wealth to a record high of $56,540 per adult.
