Global Capital Middle East Report: Regional Bid Holds Up As Internationals Turn Away
29 February, 2016
Global Capital Middle East Report: Cash Strapped Governments Look to Project Finance
29 February, 2016Global Capital, February 2016
The Gulf states are steadily coming to terms with a new and most unwelcome reality: sustained low oil prices. Digesting the fact that these prices appear to be here to stay, in the near term at least, means accepting some difficult home truths about deficits, infrastructure spending, liquidity and market performance.
“The lower oil price has of course made a substantial difference to GCC countries, both in terms of their economies and their mood,” says Chavan Bhogaita, managing director and global head of market insights and strategy at National Bank of
Abu Dhabi (NBAD).
“The times of ample budget surpluses and year after year of asset accumulation are over, for now at least. We are now in times of budget deficits and asset depletion.”
Just how bad is it? Nothing disastrous, at this stage. To varying degrees, the Gulf economies enjoy considerable buffers of reserves, whether in sovereign wealth funds or bank deposits; they have mainly run surpluses for years and have little or no debt; and even now, their economies are still growing. The threat is of slowdown, not recession.
Read the full article here: http://www.globalcapital.com/article/wn3zp8l30rk2/rich-states-adjust-to-harsher-climate-as-oil-keeps-flowing
