GULF WEEKLY: Turkey and Tunisia get Gulf aid, Kuwait plans a new SWF, Bahrain’s GDP is weak in Q1, Oman merges pension funds

GULF COUNTRIES - Report 21 Jul 2023 by Justin Alexander

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

* ADQ pledged to buy $8.5bn in Turkish sukuk, driving a rally, as part of a wider package of UAE deals.
* Tunisia received $500m in grant and loan pledges from Saudi Arabia, boosting its bonds.o
* Saudi Arabia signed a large contract for Turkish drones during Erdogan’s Gulf tours.
* Japan’s prime minister visited Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, and Japan-GCC FTA talks will resume.
* The presidents of the Central Asian states gathered in Jeddah for a summit with the GCC.
* A colorful WSJ article suggested that UAE-Saudi relations are extremely tense.
* Saudi inflation eased to 2.7% but rental inflation rose to 10.8% amidst strong population growth.
* India and the UAE agreed to trade in local currencies, and Indian Oil signed an LNG deal with Adnoc.
* Dubai suspended Emirates Gold over money laundering concerns, while the UAE signed a big mining deal in DRC.
* Masdar issued a debut green bond, and Almarai issued a sukuk. Both were for $750m, with 10-year tenors.
* Kuwait announced plans for a new sovereign wealth fund focused on domestic investment.
* The Kuwait education minister resigned, the second to leave the cabinet in as many weeks.
* Oman merged 11 public sector pension funds into a new Social Protection Fund.
* Oman’s new social projection law costs 20.7% of Omani salaries and 9% for expats.
* Bahrain’s non-oil GDP growth slowed to 3.5%, and its oil sector contracted by -5.9%.
* Databank updates: Bahrain GDP, Inflation for Saudi, Qatar, Oman and Dubai.

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