Emerging signs of economic diversification bode well for GCC economies

Emerging signs of economic diversification bode well for GCC economies

Muscat: Emerging signs of economic diversification into future-proof sectors bode well for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies and the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) investors long-term, a new study reveals.The long-term outlook for Mena based investors looks surprisingly positive due to digital acceleration and other signals of growth in non-oil sectors due to the global pandemic, Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) said in its latest report.Covid-19 continues to ravage economies around the world. The most recent forecast from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts a very gloomy end to 2020 for the GCC with the gross domestic product (GDP) expected to shrink by 7.6 per cent for the year, notably worse than the 2.7 per cent contraction predicted on April 2.However, ASI believes the strength and wealth of governments in