GULF WEEKLY: Construction powers Dubai GDP surge, Qatar’s deficit widens slightly, Saudi tourism gigaprojects to open soon, Sudani leads fragmented Iraqi election
A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines:
* Oil is set for a weekly gain as a strike on a Russian export terminal briefly offset supply glut worries.
* The IEA reinstated a “business as usual” scenario that would see oil demand growing until 2050.
* Saudi Arabia recently revised its current account data, widening the deficit to -4.6% of GDP in Q2.
* A new foreign ownership law will include lifetime Saudi residency for those who purchase a property worth at least $1.1m.
* Saudi Arabia hosted a UN tourism summit, and gigaprojects Amaala and Qiddiya are soon opening.
* Dubai’s GDP grew by 4.7% in Q2, the strongest since early 2022, led by a 15% surge in construction.
* The UAE’s first Digital Dirham transaction was executed in an ongoing trial by the central bank.
* The EU has approved Adnoc’s €11.7bn takeover of German chemicals firm Covestro.
* US defense firm Anduril is investing $200m to build drones in the UAE in a JV with EDGE Group.
* Qatar’s fiscal deficit widened slightly to 0.7% of GDP in Q3, despite a sharp fall in capex.
* Kuwait is planning a battery storage system with up to 1.5GW capacity to help prevent blackouts.
* Oman saw strong growth in tourism in September, up 16% y/y, including 70% for Europeans.
* Moody’s sees Bahrain’s deficit widening to -13.4% of GDP in 2025 and debt hitting 160% in 2027.
* Syria’s president met with Trump in the White House, who extended sanctions waivers.
* Concerns are growing about a de facto partition of Gaza along the ceasefire Yellow Line.
* PM Sudani won the most seats in Iraq’s election (14%), with the rest split between dozens of parties.
* Databank updates: Qatar fiscal, Dubai GDP, Saudi BoP, Bahrain forecasts, Saudi & UAE inflation…
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