GULF WEEKLY: Abu Dhabi 2070 bond, Bahrain lifts debt ceiling, UN opposes snapback sanctions

GULF COUNTRIES - Report 28 Aug 2020 by Rory Fyfe and Justin Alexander

A skimmable summary of key developments overlaid with our analysis and links to further information. Headlines include:

* FTSE Russell launched a Saudi local bond index covering $73bn in securities.
* Concerns grew about Saudi political detainees, including MBN and Saad Aljabri’s relatives.
* South Yemen separatists again pulled out of the Riyadh Agreement power-sharing deal.
* There were irregularities in the World Bank's Doing Business assessments of Saudi and UAE.
* Abu Dhabi issued $5bn, including the region’s first 50-year bond.
* UAE-Israel normalization moved forward, and Pompeo toured to encourage others to follow.
* The UAE joined a Greek military exercise showing force against Turkey’s maritime claims.
* Kuwait was caught up in a scandal over spying on citizens in relation to 1MDB.
* The expat workforce in Oman fell -12% y/y in July.
* Bahrain lifted its debt ceiling by $5.3bn to permit new borrowing in 2020-22.
* The UN Security Council rejected US moves for snapback sanctions on Iran, and Iran agreed to permit inspectors into two suspected nuclear sites.
* S&P affirmed Iraq at B-, given strong FX reserves, despite a deficit of -20% of GDP this year.

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