GULF WEEKLY: KSA investment licenses boom, Aramco plans more debt, UAE equity markets surpass $1trn, ICC issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu
A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines:
* Brent crude has recovered to $74 as the market weighs geopolitical risks and Chinese demand.
* Trump nominated fracking pioneer Chris Wright as Energy Secretary and met with PIF’s chairman.
* KSA issued a record number of investment licenses in Q3, with strong growth in Chinese and US firms.
* Aramco’s CFO confirmed plans for more debt issuance but denied this would finance dividends.
* PIF more than tripled its money from a 2020 investment in Live Nation, selling its stake for about $1.8bn.
* The UAE equity markets surpassed $1trn in capitalization, and Dubai’s index hit a 10-year high.
* The Talabat IPO will raise about $1.5bn at a $10bn value. Dubai Holding is considering some IPOs
* Moody’s now expects Kuwait’s debt law to come sooner, with $7bn in issuance in 2025/26.
* The IMF issued a brief but complementary statement following its Oman Article IV mission.
* The OQ Base Industries IPO starts building its book next week and will raise about $0.5bn.
* British Airways reversed its plan to cancel Bahrain flights but has still dropped Kuwait.
* Betting markets see a 45% chance of a Lebanon ceasefire this year but just 14% for Gaza. The UN vetoed another UNSC ceasefire resolution.
* Hamas’s officials have departed Qatar but its office has not been permanently closed.
* The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, which most member states said they would respect.
* Databank updates: Inflation for Oman, Kuwait & Dubai; Oman fiscal, hydrocarbons and population; Kuwait forecasts.
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