GULF WEEKLY: Coronavirus slows, Saudi/Qatar fiscal data, Oman/Dubai GRE downgrades

GULF COUNTRIES - Report 01 May 2020 by Rory Fyfe and Justin Alexander

The weekly is a skimmable summary of key developments by country, overlaid with our analysis, the outlook and links to further information. Headlines include:

* Oil rose by about $5 over the week, and the new OPEC+ quotas came into effect today.
* Coronavirus growth rates finally began to slow significantly in the region (down to 53% w/w).
* Lockdown measures eased in some states, most notably Dubai, which is talking about a return to tourism as soon as July, though this is probably premature.
* Saudi Q1 fiscal data showed a $9bn deficit, and its net foreign assets saw a record -$27bn fall in March.
* Dubai GREs saw downgrades from Moody's, and there is talk of private debt placements by the state.
* The FATF strongly criticized the UAE’s anti-money laundering efforts.
* Qatar’s fiscal outturn showed a $1.7bn surplus in 2019, including a -$1.4bn deficit in Q4. Its net foreign assets rose slightly in March.
* Oman was downgraded to BB+ (Negative) by Capital Intelligence.
* Bahrain sold a BD300bn 3-year bond at 6%.
* Lebanon announced a rescue plan and will seek IMF support, but remains highly unstable, with criticism of the central bank and renewed protests.
* Conflicts worsened in Libya (Haftar overrode civilian rule), Yemen (southern separatists declared self-rule again) and Palestine (Israel moved towards annexation of parts of the West Bank).

Now read on...

Register to sample a report

Register
Sign-in
Forgot your password?
Copyright 2024 GlobalSource Partners. All rights reserved. This report is prepared for GlobalSource Partners’ clients and may not be redistributed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, retransmitted or disclosed, in whole or in part, or in any form or manner, without the express written consent of GlobalSource Partners. This report is distributed simultaneously to our website and other portals used by GlobalSource Partners. The information herein was obtained from various sources and is believed to be reliable but GlobalSource Partners does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Neither GlobalSource Partners nor any Country Analyst, officer or employee accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential damages or losses rising from any use of this report or its contents.