The Minister of Finance Ibrahim Alassaf said that IMF forecasts for GDP growth of 1.2% this year and 2.0% in 2017 were "reasonable", and that he expects economic growth to be 2.0% or less in 2017. The Kingdom's debt issues would not be limited to bonds, but would be followed by other instruments such as sukuk, he said during a joint press conference with the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. He hopes to put the finishing touches on plans to impose region-wide VAT and excise taxes at a meeting of GCC finance ministers on Thursday. (Reuters)