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COUNTRY INSIGHTS

​IRAN: Admission of guilt for downing plane is a risk-off development
GULF COUNTRIES · In Brief · 11 Jan 2020

For three days, Iran insisted that the crash of Flight 752 to Ukraine on Wednesday was due to mechanical error, despite the coincidence of it happening just hours of Iran’s counterstrike on US bases in Iraq. This was maintained despite mounting evidence and accusations from Canada’s prime ministe...

OMAN: Sultan Haitham should be well prepared to address fiscal challenges
GULF COUNTRIES · In Brief · 11 Jan 2020

Oman's bizarre and untested succession system, set up by Qaboos to reduce the risk of rivals (after he’d deposed his father), was supposed to involve three days of deliberation by the Royal Family Council, during the period of official mourning, and only if they could not agree would two letters ...

​OMAN: Succession will be credit-positive
GULF COUNTRIES · In Brief · 10 Jan 2020

A month ago, when Sultan Qaboos checked out early from a specialist hospital in Belgium we said it seemed likely that it had been determined that his cancer was untreatable and he had returned to Oman to die. Sadly, this prediction proved accurate, despite state TV claiming that he was in a stabl...

Ukrainian inflation at 4.1%
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 10 Jan 2020

On January 9 the Ukrainian Statistics Agency announced that inflation in Ukraine is now at 4.1%. This is a marked improvement over 2018 when it averaged 9.8%. It is also better than in 2017 and 2016.

Russian internet company seeking to provide telephone services
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 10 Jan 2020

Yandex is planning to offer phone services. On January 9 it was reported in Kommersant that Yandex is thinking of functioning as a virtual operator. This would be linked to music and films which Yandex also links to. The company does not expect to turn a profit from this but to widen its client b...

Gulf weekly: Iran counterstrike, Kuwait and Bahrain GDP data
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 10 Jan 2020

The weekly is a skimmable summary of key developments by country, overlaid with our analysis and links to further information. Headlines include: * Iran’s limited counterstrike on US forces in Iraq seemed to be a signal of de-escalation. * Iraq’s parliament voted to expel US troops. * MBS’s ...

China’s half-hearted stimulus
CHINA ADVISORY · Report · 10 Jan 2020

China is entering 2020 with a weak response to the economic decline. Beijing is accepting slower growth as one of the casualties of avoiding excessive investment that would lead to inefficient growth and the potential for financial systemic risk. However, in place of a substantial monetary or fi...

Rates remain on hold and the bias remains dovish
ISRAEL · In Brief · 10 Jan 2020

As expected, the BoI left the rate unchanged, but the interest-rate announcement came in a little bit more dovish than expected. The announcement stressed the low-inflation environment and the difficulties to return inflation back to the target range amid the strengthening of the shekel. The use ...

Central government cash deficit slightly below target in full-year 2019
HUNGARY · In Brief · 09 Jan 2020

The central government's cash deficit was announced by the Finance Ministry today at HUF 453bn for December and HUF 1219bn for full-year 2019, the latter down from HUF 1445bn in 2018. This means a deficit of 2.6% of GDP last year, just slightly below the 2.7% target figure and more significantly ...

Inflation slows to 4.1% ytd in 2019, much below the targeted level
UKRAINE · In Brief · 09 Jan 2020

CPI slowed to 4.1% ytd or 7.9% y/y in 2019 down from +9.8% ytd or +10.9% y/y a year ago, beating any projections for the year. The NBU aimed +6.3% ytd but now consumer inflation is more than 2ppt below the target. Falling transportation prices (-2.4% ytd vs. +12.9% ytd in 2018), sliding utilities...

Happy new year?
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 09 Jan 2020

First, the good news. Government has a new P4.1 trillion budget which President Duterte signed into law early this week. This would normally be par for the course but, following last year’s delayed budget that became a major drag on economic growth, is clearly a positive development. Public spend...

Gross reserves jump by $3.4 billion in December, touching 7-years highs
UKRAINE · In Brief · 09 Jan 2020

The NBU reported $25.3 billion or 3.9 months of imports by the end of December 2019. It appeared to be an impressive jump by 15.4% or $3.4 billion just for one month (up by $4.5 billion since the year start). That high level of gross reserves has not been seen since November 2012. At the press-re...

Pipeline from Russia to Turkey opens
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 08 Jan 2020

On January 8 the Turkstream pipeline was launched. The pipeline is 930 km across the Black Sea. The aim is to avoid Russian gas going via Ukraine. Gazprom is the company sending the gas. The capacity will be 15.75 bcm. Much of the gas will transit on the to the EU.This is the third pipeline extan...

Ukrainian passenger plane crashes in Iran
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 08 Jan 2020

On January 8 a Ukrainian International Airlines plane crashed in Iran. All 176 people aboard were killed. The cause of the disaster has not yet been determined. Already some people on the internet are making accusations of foul play. The crash comes at a moment of high tension between Iran and th...

A gap has opened up between the performance of listed and unlisted companies
INDIA · Report · 08 Jan 2020

Listed firms in India experienced buoyant growth from 1999 until about 2006, but their growth in the following period has been disappointing. In this note, we find that until 2012, listed and unlisted firms fared similarly. But since 2012, a significant gap has opened up between the two groups. U...

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