
• 沙特阿拉伯在美国总统唐纳德·特朗普访问期间,承诺向美国投资6,000亿美元。但沙特目前处于财政赤字状态,除非油价上涨,否则实现该国承诺的支出水平将极其困难,而油价上涨则会让特朗普的经济账变得更加复杂。
除了大规模经济协议外,唐纳德·特朗普喜欢的另外一件事就是低油价。
但他目前对海湾国家的访问,正让这两个目标产生冲突。
美国政府大肆宣传沙特阿拉伯的投资承诺,称总额达6,000亿美元,甚至有说法称达到1万亿美元。
这堪称天文数字:若按1万亿美元计算,这笔投资相当于沙特主权财富或GDP的总值。要想长期维持这种程度的对美投资,沙特很可能需要推高当前的低油价,但这肯定会激怒特朗普。
位于利雅得的海湾研究中心(Gulf Research Center)首席经济学家兼研究主任约翰·斯法基亚纳基斯对《财富》杂志表示:“这个数字令人震撼,但其意义最终将取决于投资深度、时间线和油价水平。除非石油收入增加,否则除非谨慎管理,履行这个承诺将使沙特的公共财政紧张。”
据《海湾新闻》报道,石油目前占沙特财政收入的约60%。
牛津经济研究院(Oxford Economics)首席经济学家玛雅·塞努西通过电子邮件对《财富》表示:“这些投资承诺确实规模庞大,当然要考虑现实状况。在我们看来,能源价格低迷给沙特带来的公共财政困境以及对国内‘2030愿景’优先事项的关注,意味着已宣布的投资承诺很可能在四年内只能部分兑现。”(沙特的“2030愿景”旨在通过耗资高达1.5万亿美元的大型公共工程项目实现经济多元化。)
彭博社估计,要实现收支平衡,沙特需要油价至少达到每桶96美元。(其他人估计这一数字超过每桶100美元。)
国际基准布伦特原油当前交易价格约为每桶65美元。今年1月特朗普就职时,布伦特原油价格为每桶79美元,特朗普总统当时认为这个价格过高。
他于1月23日在世界经济论坛表示:“我还会要求沙特和欧佩克(OPEC)降低石油成本。”特朗普说道:“你们必须降价,坦率地说,我很惊讶他们在选前没有这样做。他们没有展现出善意。”
这份“善意”虽迟到了几个月,但终究还是来了——欧佩克宣布在5月和6月增产推动油价下跌。路透社专栏作家罗恩·布索写道,沙特的举动“看起来像是给特朗普的无声礼物”。美国战略与国际研究中心(Center for Strategic and International Studies)能源安全与气候变化项目高级研究员克莱顿·赛格勒周三撰文称,更低的汽油价格意味着“特朗普已在沙特取得了重大胜利”。
但低油价能维持多久仍有待观察。
经济学家质疑6,000亿美元这个数字
许多观察人士对6,000亿美元的协议表示怀疑,认为其规模异常庞大。白宫提供的情况说明书详细列出了总额2,820亿美元的投资,其中包括承诺的1,420亿美元美国军售。
瑞银全球财富管理(UBS Global Wealth Management)首席经济学家保罗·多诺万本周撰文称,6,000亿美元投资计划“虽然有声势浩大的宣传噱头,但是实际上未必能改变现实。这个计划不足以让经济学家调整经济预期。”
据媒体报道,特朗普希望动用这1万亿美元支出。彭博社首席新兴市场经济学家齐亚德·达乌德对《纽约时报》表示,这笔投资“不切实际”。
阿拉伯海湾国家研究所(Arab Gulf States Institute)访问学者、前国际货币基金组织(IMF)官员蒂姆·卡伦指出,事实上,6,000亿美元大致相当于沙特GDP的60%和当前海外资产的40%。卡伦在今年早些时候撰文称,要实现这一目标,沙特需要在未来四年内将从美国进口的外国商品的比例提高四倍。他表示,虽然“沙特似乎可能会增加对美投资”,但“此次投资承诺的规模看起来过于庞大”。
雄心勃勃的“2030愿景”又给这一承诺增加了变数。这是一项耗资可能达1.3万亿美元的公共工程和经济多元化计划。这些国内需求已使沙特陷入赤字。高盛(Goldman Sachs)分析师法鲁克·苏萨对CNBC表示,再加上当前的油价下跌,沙特赤字到今年底可能翻倍至700亿美元。
苏萨表示,沙特当然可以承受短期赤字,但它很可能通过削减项目、出售资产或提高税收来缩小缺口。
数字惊人,细节匮乏
特朗普声称,沙特在他的首个任期内购买了4,500亿美元的美国出口商品,但阿拉伯海湾国家研究所的卡伦认为,这个数字与现实“相去甚远”。
特朗普并非第一位宣布浮夸公共项目却最终被现实打脸的政府官员。政客们热衷吹嘘他们对商业友好的形象,以至于揭穿这些浮夸承诺已成为一个“小作坊式”的行业。
诺贝尔奖得主、麻省理工学院(MIT)经济学家西蒙·约翰逊对《财富》杂志表示:“坦白说,对外发布的声明总是会有所夸大。我不认为这个承诺能够起到媒体宣传的实际效果。但它所传达出的信号是积极的。”约翰逊此前曾建议首席执行官们通过在摇摆州宣布开发协议来讨好特朗普,即使这些承诺后来都变成了“空谈”。
约翰逊表示,在特朗普的首个任期,“许多承诺都未能兑现。但这就是商业的本质:重大投资不可能一蹴而就,立竿见影。”(财富中文网)
译者:刘进龙
审校:汪皓
• 沙特阿拉伯在美国总统唐纳德·特朗普访问期间,承诺向美国投资6,000亿美元。但沙特目前处于财政赤字状态,除非油价上涨,否则实现该国承诺的支出水平将极其困难,而油价上涨则会让特朗普的经济账变得更加复杂。
除了大规模经济协议外,唐纳德·特朗普喜欢的另外一件事就是低油价。
但他目前对海湾国家的访问,正让这两个目标产生冲突。
美国政府大肆宣传沙特阿拉伯的投资承诺,称总额达6,000亿美元,甚至有说法称达到1万亿美元。
这堪称天文数字:若按1万亿美元计算,这笔投资相当于沙特主权财富或GDP的总值。要想长期维持这种程度的对美投资,沙特很可能需要推高当前的低油价,但这肯定会激怒特朗普。
位于利雅得的海湾研究中心(Gulf Research Center)首席经济学家兼研究主任约翰·斯法基亚纳基斯对《财富》杂志表示:“这个数字令人震撼,但其意义最终将取决于投资深度、时间线和油价水平。除非石油收入增加,否则除非谨慎管理,履行这个承诺将使沙特的公共财政紧张。”
据《海湾新闻》报道,石油目前占沙特财政收入的约60%。
牛津经济研究院(Oxford Economics)首席经济学家玛雅·塞努西通过电子邮件对《财富》表示:“这些投资承诺确实规模庞大,当然要考虑现实状况。在我们看来,能源价格低迷给沙特带来的公共财政困境以及对国内‘2030愿景’优先事项的关注,意味着已宣布的投资承诺很可能在四年内只能部分兑现。”(沙特的“2030愿景”旨在通过耗资高达1.5万亿美元的大型公共工程项目实现经济多元化。)
彭博社估计,要实现收支平衡,沙特需要油价至少达到每桶96美元。(其他人估计这一数字超过每桶100美元。)
国际基准布伦特原油当前交易价格约为每桶65美元。今年1月特朗普就职时,布伦特原油价格为每桶79美元,特朗普总统当时认为这个价格过高。
他于1月23日在世界经济论坛表示:“我还会要求沙特和欧佩克(OPEC)降低石油成本。”特朗普说道:“你们必须降价,坦率地说,我很惊讶他们在选前没有这样做。他们没有展现出善意。”
这份“善意”虽迟到了几个月,但终究还是来了——欧佩克宣布在5月和6月增产推动油价下跌。路透社专栏作家罗恩·布索写道,沙特的举动“看起来像是给特朗普的无声礼物”。美国战略与国际研究中心(Center for Strategic and International Studies)能源安全与气候变化项目高级研究员克莱顿·赛格勒周三撰文称,更低的汽油价格意味着“特朗普已在沙特取得了重大胜利”。
但低油价能维持多久仍有待观察。
经济学家质疑6,000亿美元这个数字
许多观察人士对6,000亿美元的协议表示怀疑,认为其规模异常庞大。白宫提供的情况说明书详细列出了总额2,820亿美元的投资,其中包括承诺的1,420亿美元美国军售。
瑞银全球财富管理(UBS Global Wealth Management)首席经济学家保罗·多诺万本周撰文称,6,000亿美元投资计划“虽然有声势浩大的宣传噱头,但是实际上未必能改变现实。这个计划不足以让经济学家调整经济预期。”
据媒体报道,特朗普希望动用这1万亿美元支出。彭博社首席新兴市场经济学家齐亚德·达乌德对《纽约时报》表示,这笔投资“不切实际”。
阿拉伯海湾国家研究所(Arab Gulf States Institute)访问学者、前国际货币基金组织(IMF)官员蒂姆·卡伦指出,事实上,6,000亿美元大致相当于沙特GDP的60%和当前海外资产的40%。卡伦在今年早些时候撰文称,要实现这一目标,沙特需要在未来四年内将从美国进口的外国商品的比例提高四倍。他表示,虽然“沙特似乎可能会增加对美投资”,但“此次投资承诺的规模看起来过于庞大”。
雄心勃勃的“2030愿景”又给这一承诺增加了变数。这是一项耗资可能达1.3万亿美元的公共工程和经济多元化计划。这些国内需求已使沙特陷入赤字。高盛(Goldman Sachs)分析师法鲁克·苏萨对CNBC表示,再加上当前的油价下跌,沙特赤字到今年底可能翻倍至700亿美元。
苏萨表示,沙特当然可以承受短期赤字,但它很可能通过削减项目、出售资产或提高税收来缩小缺口。
数字惊人,细节匮乏
特朗普声称,沙特在他的首个任期内购买了4,500亿美元的美国出口商品,但阿拉伯海湾国家研究所的卡伦认为,这个数字与现实“相去甚远”。
特朗普并非第一位宣布浮夸公共项目却最终被现实打脸的政府官员。政客们热衷吹嘘他们对商业友好的形象,以至于揭穿这些浮夸承诺已成为一个“小作坊式”的行业。
诺贝尔奖得主、麻省理工学院(MIT)经济学家西蒙·约翰逊对《财富》杂志表示:“坦白说,对外发布的声明总是会有所夸大。我不认为这个承诺能够起到媒体宣传的实际效果。但它所传达出的信号是积极的。”约翰逊此前曾建议首席执行官们通过在摇摆州宣布开发协议来讨好特朗普,即使这些承诺后来都变成了“空谈”。
约翰逊表示,在特朗普的首个任期,“许多承诺都未能兑现。但这就是商业的本质:重大投资不可能一蹴而就,立竿见影。”(财富中文网)
译者:刘进龙
审校:汪皓
• Saudi Arabia promised to invest $600 billion in the U.S. during President Donald Trump’s trip there. But the kingdom is currently running a deficit, and boosting its spending to promised levels would be extremely difficult unless the price of oil goes higher—complicating Trump’s math.
If there’s one thing President Donald Trump likes almost as much as big economic deals, it’s low gas prices.
His current trip to the Gulf states is bringing those two goals into conflict.
The administration has touted an investment from Saudi Arabia described as totaling $600 billion or, in one case, $1 trillion.
It’s a massive number: At $1 trillion, the investment would be equivalent to the entire value of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth, or the nation’s GDP. For the nation to be able to sustain that level of investment in the U.S. long-term, it would likely require hiking currently-low oil prices—a prospect sure to anger Trump.
“The number is impressive, but its significance will ultimately depend on the depth, timeline, and the price of oil,” John Sfakianakis, chief economist and head of research at the Gulf Research Center in Riyadh, told Fortune. “Unless oil revenues rise, financing such commitments will strain public finances unless managed prudently.”
Oil currently accounts for about 60% of the kingdom’s revenue, according to Gulf News.
“These pledges will of course have to face up to reality as indeed they are large,” Maya Senussi, lead economist at Oxford Economics, told Fortune in an email. “In our view, the headwinds to public finances from lower energy prices and focus on domestic Vision 2030 priorities mean the announced pledges will likely only partly materialise within the four-year timeframe.” (Vision 2030 aims to diversify the Saudi economy through massive public-works projects, whose cost has been pinned as high as $1.5 trillion.)
In order to break even on spending, the state of Saudi Arabia needs the price of oil to be at least $96 a barrel, Bloomberg estimated. (Other estimates put the number above $100 a barrel.)
Brent crude, the international benchmark, is currently trading at about $65 a barrel. That price was $79 in January, when Trump took office—a number the president thought was too high.
“I’m also going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil,” he told the World Economic Forum on Jan. 23. “You got to bring it down, which, frankly, I’m surprised they didn’t do before the election,” Trump said. “That didn’t show a lot of love.”
That love was maybe some months late in coming, but it has arrived, with OPEC announcing production increases for May and June that pushed the price of oil lower. The Saudis’ move “looks like [an] unspoken gift to Trump,” wrote Reuters columnist Ron Bousso. Lower gasoline prices mean “Trump has already scored his big Saudi win,” Clayton Seigle, a senior fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote Wednesday.
How long that price stays low remains to be seen.
Economist question $600B figure
Many observers have cast doubt on the $600 billion deal, calling it unusually large. A fact sheet provided by the White House details investments totaling $282 billion, including the $142 billion in promised U.S. arms sales.
Paul Donovan, chief economist of UBS Global Wealth Management, wrote this week the $600 billion plan has “a fanfare of spin, which does not necessarily change anything in reality. The announcement does not require economic forecasts to change.”
When it comes to the $1 trillion in spending that Trump reportedly sought, Ziad Daoud, Bloomberg’s chief emerging markets economist, told The New York Times it was “far-fetched.”
As it is, $600 billion is roughly 60% of Saudi Arabia’s GDP and about 40% of its current foreign assets, according to Tim Callen, a visiting fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute and former IMF official. Meeting that target would require the country to quintuple the portion of foreign imports it sources from the U.S. over the next four years, Callen wrote earlier this year. While “it seems likely that Saudi investments in the United States will grow,” he said, “the scale of the commitment looks too large.”
Complicating the commitment is Vision 2030, an ambitious program of public works and economic diversification whose cost has been estimated at $1.3 trillion. These domestic demands have pushed the kingdom into deficit spending. Now add the falling price of oil, and Saudi Arabia’s deficit could double by the end of this year to $70 billion, Goldman Sachs’ Farouk Soussa told CNBC.
To be sure, Saudi Arabia can afford some short-term deficit spending, but it will likely look to close the gap, either by cutting back projects, selling assets, or raising taxes, Soussa said.
Huge numbers, scant details
Trump claims Saudi Arabia bought $450 billion of U.S. exports during his first term, a figure that Callen, of the Arab Gulf States Institute, says was not “anywhere near” reality.
Trump would hardly be the first public official to announce a bombastic public project only to be disappointed by reality. Politicians love to tout their business-friendly bona fides, so much so that debunking these claims has become a cottage industry.
“Let’s be honest, announcements are always at the high end. I don’t think the actual effect is as big as the headline. But the sign is positive,” Simon Johnson, a Nobel prize-winning MIT economist, told Fortune. Johnson previously suggested CEOs get on Trump’s good side by announcing development deals in swing states, even if those promises later turn out to be “vaporware.”
During Trump’s first term, “there were a lot of promises that didn’t come to fruition,” Johnson said. “But that is kind of the nature of the business: If you’re making big investments, they don’t happen overnight.”