Some MENA countries could be more susceptible than others to contagion from the current revolt in Tunisia since many of the economic and political factors that contributed to the protests in the north African country can be found to different degrees and varying combinations in other sovereigns in the region, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said in a statement. S&P said it does not expect regional political instability, but pointed out that the more vulnerable states are Egypt, Algeria, and Jordan, and to a lesser degree Morocco. The Tunisia protest might influence also public finances in the region since the governments have been trying to content price hikes of food and fuels. moderate or prevent popular discontent by measures to try to stabilize or lower prices of staples and fuels. |
Bahrain Middle East Bank made a USD 13mn full repayment of a loan obligation including a USD 1.4mn interest payment taking total repayments by the troubled lender to USD 43mn, the bank said in ... more
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the UAE's largest lender by market value, initiated a USD 17mn fifteen-year Uridashi bond, MENA's first ever, allowing the bank to directly access Japanese ... more
The GCC economies remain insulated from economic and political turbulence in the MENA region and globally but structural challenges continue to constrain sovereign ratings, ratings agency ... more