Overall, energy price shock, unemployment and terrorist attacks are the top three biggest risks facing the Mena region, followed by failure of regional and global governance, fiscal crises and cyber attacks.
Unmanageable inflation, water crises, illicit trade and failure of financial mechanisms or institutions were the other top 10 risks, according to the latest Middle East and North Africa Risks Landscape, according to report on Thursday from insurance firm Marsh in collaboration with the World Economic Forum.
“The top risk, ‘energy price shock’, comes at a time when some countries have taken steps towards diversification, but the region is still largely a hydrocarbon economy,” according to the study based on a survey of the WEF’s stakeholder communities, the professional networks of its advisory board, and members of the Institute of Risk Management. The survey received 916 responses.
Oil prices increased substantially between 2017 and 2018, from around $50 to $75 per barrel – representing a “significant fillip” for the region’s oil producers.
“However, vulnerabilities to swings in oil prices…
