GULF WEEKLY: Kuwait’s fiscal surplus tops GCC, rates hiked with Fed, Qatar appoints UAE ambassador
A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines:
* The GCC’s aggregate fiscal surplus in 2022 was 5.9% of GDP, the most since 2013.
* Kuwait was the last to publish its outturn data, with the largest surplus, about 12% of GDP.
* Brent crude touched $84, the highest since April, as supply tightens and Saudi cuts are expected to be extended.
* The Gulf states all hiked rates by +25bp, following the US Fed.
* PIF launched a new tourism development company, invested in Vale and brought IHG to Oxagon.
* The UAE consolidated fiscal surplus eased to 3.2% of GDP in Q1, but the quarterly series is volatile.
* Emiratization continued to surge due to new penalties on companies employing fewer than 3%.
* ADQ, Mubadala and Emirates Steel faced problems with acquisitions in Germany, the US and Israel.
* Qatar Airways' profit eased to $1.2bn despite a 71% increase in passengers; cargo fell by -10%.
* QIA sold a 30% stake in Valentino for 2.4 times what it paid for the entire firm in 2012.
* Qatar appointed its first ambassador to the UAE since the 2017 rift.
* Qatar’s prime minister visited Ukraine and pledged $100m in aid.
* Kuwait’s Assembly approved changes to the constitutional court law and backed a new electoral law.
* Oman issued a new labor law that enhances some worker rights and formalizes termination rules.
* Iraq’s dinar fell by -6% in the parallel market after the US placed restrictions on 14 banks.
* Databank updates: Kuwait and UAE fiscal; Dubai tourism.
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