GULF WEEKLY: Kuwait plans huge debt issuances, Gulf airlines achieve record profits, Bahrain may import Russian LNG

GULF COUNTRIES - Report 23 May 2025 by Justin Alexander

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines:

* Oil dipped to $64 on tariff worries, rising inventories and OPEC+ taper speculation.
* A fifth round of US-Iran talks is underway, but Khamenei downplayed the prospects.
* NEOM’s green hydrogen plant, opening next year, is struggling to find customers.
* IPOs for Flynas and Dubai Residential REIT both drew very strong demand.
* Dubai’s tourism picked up sharply in April, after a weak Ramadan, and is up 7% YTD.
* $3bn in local manufacturing deals were announced at the "Make it in the Emirates" summit.
* Qatar Airways reported record 2024/25 profits; Etihad had a record Q1.
* MGX is partnering to develop a 1.4GW AI data center in France, Europe’s largest.
* Qatar announced $1bn in FDI incentives for logistics, manufacturing, finance and tech.
* Kuwait announced plans to issue $10-20bn in debt this year, far more than expected.
* Kuwait suffered more blackouts as temperatures spiked to 50 °C, driving A/C demand.
* The Omani citizen population surpassed 3m; expats are 43% of the population.
* Investcorp agreed to invest $550m in an expansion of Duqm Port.
* Bahrain is close to a deal to import LNG from Russia, which will boost gas costs.
* Western states made unusually strong criticism of the Gaza offensive.
* Hamas documents suggest Saudi-Israeli normalization fears were a factor in Oct 7.
* Databank updates: Kuwait forecasts; Oman, Kuwait, Dubai inflation; Dubai tourism.

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