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COUNTRY INSIGHTS

GULF WEEKLY: Saudi employment improves in Q1 but FDI remains weak, PIF and Qatar Airways report strong profits, Israel sends ceasefire negotiators back to Qatar
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 05 Jul 2024

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * Current surpluses rose in Q1 in Qatar (15% of GDP) and KSA (3%) but eased in Bahrain (5%). * Inward FDI remained weak in KSA (1% of GDP), fell in Bahrain (to 2%), and turned negative in Qatar. * Qatar’s PMI surged in June...

GULF WEEKLY: Oman’s GDP improved in Q1, PIF advanced 5.5GW of solar power, the UAE issued a $1.5bn bond, Bahrain’s foreign minister visited Iran
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 28 Jun 2024 · 1 response

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * EY and Mizuho are the latest firms to receive licenses for Regional HQs in Riyadh. * A PIF-led consortium signed $3.3bn in power purchase deals for 5.5GW in solar plants. * Aramco announced plans to buy a 25% stake in Por...

GULF WEEKLY: Oil rises to $86, GCC competitiveness improves, UAE FDI surged in 2023
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 21 Jun 2024 · 1 response

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * Brent crude continued to rebound, rising to $86 today, the highest since April. * Gulf states all improved in IMD’s competitiveness index for a second year, led by the UAE at 7th globally. * The UAE led GCC FDI inflows in...

GULF WEEKLY: Oil rises but demand forecasts diverge, Qatar and Bahrain appoint ambassadors, Saudi and Kuwait GDP
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 14 Jun 2024

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * Brent crude rebounded to about $83, above its level before the recent OPEC+ meeting. * The gap between IEA and OPEC demand forecasts widened to 1.3m b/d this year and 5.6m in 2029. * There was confusion about the position...

GULF WEEKLY: Aramco equity offering raises $11bn, Kuwait crown prince appointed, Oman spending down -2% in 2023
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 07 Jun 2024 · 1 response

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * Brent crude partly recovers to $80, after initially bearish sentiments about the OPEC+ deal. * Qatar is hosting more ceasefire consultations as Biden’s Gaza plan faces pushback. * Qalibaf and Ahmadinejad added their names...

OPEC+ outlines production through 2025, phasing out this year’s cuts and giving an uplift for the UAE
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 03 Jun 2024 · 1 response

* The ministerial meeting was more ambitious than expected after a shift in venue to Riyadh. * This year’s 2.2m b/d in voluntary cuts by 8 countries will be phased out from Q4-24 to Q3-25. * The UAE has been allocated an additional 300k b/d that will phase in during 2025. * A fuller reallocati...

GULF WEEKLY: Saudi issues sukuk and announces Aramco secondary sale, UAE signs CEPA with Korea, Alat invests $2bn in Lenovo
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 31 May 2024

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * Candidates for the Iranian presidency include hardliner Saeed Jalili and former speaker Ali Larijani. * Saudi Arabia issued $5bn in dollar sukuk and extended the maturity profile for $17bn in riyal sukuk. * Aramco announc...

GULF WEEKLY: Fitch upgrades RAK, Qatar issues green bond, Adnoc invests in LNG abroad, Gulf officials attend funeral in Iran
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 24 May 2024 · 2 responses

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * Gulf ministers and Qatar’s Emir attended Raisi’s funeral, and Iran set elections for June 28. * The ICJ demanded a halt to the Rafah offensive, and the ICC proposed charges for Israeli and Hamas officials. * King Salman’s...

Iran’s president dies – what comes next?
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 20 May 2024

* President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash. * There has been no suggestion of foul play. * Elections are due by July 9, and a handpicked hardliner will win. * This comes as a sensitive time, when Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei may not have long to live a...

GULF WEEKLY: Kuwait suspends parliament, Emirates makes record profit, Moody’s hikes Bahrain deficit, UAE sends $14bn to Egypt
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 17 May 2024 · 1 response

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * OPEC has shifted its core unit of analysis in its oil market reports to OPEC+ for the first time. * Half of Rafah’s population has been displaced, and Israel’s cabinet argued over postwar planning. * UK-GCC free trade tal...

GULF WEEKLY: Saudi Q1 deficit, UAE trade talks with New Zealand, Israel assaults Rafah and bans Al Jazeera
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 10 May 2024 · 1 response

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * OPEC+ for the first time published a compensation plan for countries exceeding their quotas. * Israel began its Rafah assault, despite US opposition, after rejecting a Hamas ceasefire proposal. * Israel banned Qatari news...

GULF WEEKLY: UAE boosts oil capacity, ADQ’s inaugural bond, Saudi non-oil growth slows, Oman awards green hydrogen blocks
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 03 May 2024

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...

GULF WEEKLY: Abu Dhabi issues $5bn bonds, transport drives UAE Q3 GDP, Saudi hosts Iranian pilgrims, Oman & UAE sign investment deals
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 26 Apr 2024 · 1 response

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * Saudi Arabia hosted the first formal Iranian Umrah pilgrimage in nine years. * Saudi Arabia lifted its borrowing plan by $14bn, implying a larger than budgeted deficit. * PIF is investing in Saudi Telecom’s tower assets a...

GULF WEEKLY: Floods batter Gulf, Israel-Iran clash may be over, Microsoft invests $1.5bn in G42, Kuwait has a new PM
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 19 Apr 2024

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: *Iran and Israel exchanged carefully calibrated attacks and have hopefully come to a pause. *Oil prices briefly spiked today on the Israeli attack but settled after more details emerged. *The US vetoed Palestinian UN member...

The limited Iranian strikes at Israel were as expected, the next steps are more uncertain
GULF COUNTRIES · In Brief · 14 Apr 2024 · 1 response

Last night, April 13, Iran launched around 300 drones and missiles toward Israel. These are significant as the first attacks from Iranian territory (and possibly by Iranian forces directly) in nearly a half-century of enmity. Until now, Iran has merely provided support to allies across the region...

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