GULF WEEKLY: Oil touches 3-month high, KSA issues $12bn bonds, Bahrain’s non-oil GDP rebounds but oil output is weak, Lebanon elects a president
A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines:
* Oil briefly rose above $80, a three-month high, on cold weather and sanctions concerns.
* Regional PMIs ended the year strongly, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
* KSA issued $12bn in bonds, albeit short-dated, 70% of the external target in its 2025 borrowing plan
* PIF raised a $7bn Murabaha from 20 banks and invested $200m in State Street’s KSA bond ETF.
* First Abu Dhabi Bank is selling $800m in distressed debt to Deutsche Bank.
* Damac’s owner met with Trump and announced plans to invest $20bn in US data centers.
* Qatar released a National Manufacturing Strategy that aims to boost the sector by a third by 2030.
* Kuwait media reported that a debt law may finally be near, eight years after its predecessor authorization expired.
* Kuwait’s 15% top-up tax will generate about 0.5% of GDP in revenue from local multinationals.
* The two chambers of Oman’s parliament resolved differences on the draft personal income tax law.
* Oman’s Ominvest raised a $500m five-year credit facility for deals from Kuwaiti and Bahraini banks.
* Bahrain’s GDP growth rebounded to 2.7% y/y, led by non-oil (4.6%), including finance (7.2%).
* However, oil production was weak in Q3, and the government’s outlook for 2025 was revised down.
* Discussion is continuing on the 2025-6 budget, with parliament debating a hike in social spending.
* Lebanon’s bonds rallied as it finally elected a president, Joseph Aoun, preferred by KSA and the US.
* Qatar plans to help Syria with electricity and possibly with government salaries.
* Trump’s envoy expressed optimism about Gaza talks in Qatar; 3% of the population may have been killed.
* Databank updates: Bahrain GDP, Bahrain forecasts, PMIs, Oman tourism.
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