GULF WEEKLY: UAE boosts oil capacity, ADQ’s inaugural bond, Saudi non-oil growth slows, Oman awards green hydrogen blocks
A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines:
* Oil had its worst week in six months, dipping by about -7% on weak data and worries about rates.
* Another Gaza ceasefire/hostage deal is being considered, but Netanyahu says he will assault Rafah anyway.
* S&P warns that a proposed new AAOIFI sharia standard could significantly reduce sukuk issuance.
* Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private GDP growth slowed to 2.8% in Q1, the weakest since 2020.
* The 2030 population target for Riyadh is reportedly being revised from 15m to a more viable 10m.
* Blackrock is expanding its asset management operations in Riyadh, with $5bn pledged from PIF.
* A US-Saudi security and tech deal is nearly agreed, but would be hard to ratify in the Senate.
* Adnoc’s crude capacity has grown to 4.85m b/d, but OPEC+ cuts mean it can only produce 2.9m.
* PMIs in the UAE, and particularly in Dubai, declined in April because of short-term flood impacts.
* ADQ issued $2.5bn in its debut bond and revealed that its assets grew 18% to $196bn in 2023.
* DFM is establishing a new platform to facilitate private debt and equity issuance and trading.
* Qatar’s non-oil growth was weak at 0.6% in Q3-23; a sectoral breakdown hasn’t been released yet.
* QatarEnergy ordered 18 more LNG carriers for $6bn from China State Shipbuilding.
* Kuwait suffered electricity blackouts, adding to longstanding concerns about a capacity shortfall.
* Oman awarded land near Salalah to two consortia planning to produce 378k t/yr of green hydrogen.
* Bapco Energies signed a 2GW wind power agreement with Masdar and may sell a stake in its oil pipeline.
* Databank updates: Saudi and Qatar GDP, Kuwait BoP, Bahrain & Kuwait inflation, UAE PMI…
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