GULF WEEKLY: Saudi oil cuts extended, UAE legalizes gambling, Qatar's population rebounds, Kuwait appoints finance minister

GULF COUNTRIES - Report 08 Sep 2023 by Justin Alexander

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

* Brent hits $90 after Saudi Arabia extended its additional cuts by three months.
* Saudi GDP growth slowed to 1.2% in Q2 on oil cuts, although the non-oil private sector accelerated to 5.8%.
* The IMF’s Saudi Arabia Article IV was upbeat and said that half the overspending in 2022 was on one-off items.
* Saudi Telecom has acquired a $2.3bn stake in Spain’s Telefonica.
* The US national security advisor visited Riyadh to discuss normalization with Israel; Thomas Friedman argued against it.
* PMIs dipped slightly in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, but all continue to suggest robust non-oil expansion.
* Saudi Arabia and the UAE will announce new trade infrastructure plans, with the US and India, at the G20.
* The UAE announced a federal authority to regulate gambling, which will generate new revenue and boost tourism.
* ADCB issued its second green bond, and Emirates NBD launched a sustainable finance framework.
* A mysterious UAE firm is buying a $625m stake in Egypt’s largest cigarette producer.
* Qatar’s population rebounded after the summer holidays, countering fears of a post-World Cup decline.
* Qatar’s loan/deposit ratio rose to a record 134% as public deposits declined by -7% m/m.
* Qatar denied Russian and Turkish comments that it was involved in a grain deal that excluded Ukraine.
* Kuwait appointed a new finance minister who denied media reports that a debt law and VAT were priorities.
* Oman’s OQ Gas Networks IPO is moving ahead and could raise a record $0.8bn.
* Databank updates: Saudi GDP, IMF Saudi forecasts, PMIs, tourism.

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.