Bahrain does not plan new dollar bond issue this year

Bahrain signed an agreement last week with Saudi, the UAE and Kuwait for a $10bn aid package

Employment levels drop in Dubai’s private sector, travel and tourism most hit

Monthly poll finds that employment levels fell at the fastest pace in September since the survey began in January 2010

Oman to privatise two electricity firms in 2019

Oman has outlined plans in recent years to sell off state assets as it seeks to confront fiscal deficits

UAE law allowing 100% foreign ownership to apply selectively, won’t hurt locals

Officials say the new law will only apply to “strategic sectors” of the economy

Oman could announce US dollar sukuk sale this week

Oman has borrowed extensively in the international markets over the past few years to finance state spending

Bahrain’s parliament approves draft VAT law

The bill is yet to be approved by the parliament’s upper house, which is expected to hold a similar session later this week

Bahrain, Manama, Cityscape view of Bahrain World Trade Center and Bahrain Financial Harbor

GCC averts Bahrain debt crisis with $10bn aid package

Bahrain also released a 33-page plan to fix its debt-burdened finances and abolish its budget deficit by 2022

UAE private sector firms continued to cut jobs in September – survey

The rate of job shedding eased since August, the monthly Emirates NBD PMI survey found

Saudi economy posts fastest growth in over a year in Q2 but private sector still sluggish

Private businesses have been hit hard by tax rises and by quotas and fees which make it more expensive to hire foreign workers

Oman central bank foreign assets fall to five-year low

Oman’s external debt has increased rapidly in the last few years

UAE central bank cuts 2018 GDP growth forecast to 2.3%

The bank has predicted 2.7 per cent GDP growth in its last report three months ago

Dubai’s non-oil economy growing at a ‘similar rate to 2017, or a touch slower’

The travel and tourism and construction sectors saw softer growth in August

Saudi likely to spend $1.1 trillion on infrastructure projects in the next 20 years

GCC governments need to “think logically” about how they balance the need to localise manufacturing, says report

Saudi reforms to boost growth despite any Aramco IPO delay – IMF

Sources told Reuters that the Armaco IPO had been postponed indefinitely

Dubai’s private sector records slowest growth in three months in July

Employment growth so far this year has been the ‘softest’ on record, finds monthly survey

Bahrain, Manama, Cityscape view of Bahrain World Trade Center and Bahrain Financial Harbor

UAE, Saudi and Kuwait affirm support to Bahrain through fiscal programme

Bahrain has projected a state budget gap of $3.5bn in 2018

Job growth in UAE’s private sector weaker than 2017

Overall, the PMI declined to 55.8 in July from 57.1 in June – the lowest reading in three months

Chinese President ends UAE visit, raft of deals signed

Xi Jinping made the first visit by a Chinese leader to the Gulf state in 29 years

Bahrain, Manama, Cityscape view of Bahrain World Trade Center and Bahrain Financial Harbor

Bahrain’s economy shrinks in Q1 as oil production dips

GDP, adjusted for inflation, shrank 1.2 per cent from a year earlier

Saudi issues draft law for public-private projects worth billions

The draft offers investors exemptions from labour laws, real state ownership restrictions and other regulations

Dubai’s retail, construction sectors see strong growth in June

Job creation remained subdued in Dubai’s non-oil private sector in June

Bahrain, Manama, Cityscape view of Bahrain World Trade Center and Bahrain Financial Harbor

Bahrain working with financial advisory firm Lazard – report

The GCC state’s currency and international bonds reached multi-year lows last week

Almost ‘no job growth or increase in wages’ in UAE’s private sector

UAE business conditions in June improve at ‘fastest pace’ so far in 2018, finds survey

Saudi GDP resumes annual growth in Q1 after falling for four quarters

For the whole of 2017, the kingdom’s GDP shrank 0.7 per cent

Bahrain dinar, bonds rebound after GCC allies pledge to avert debt crisis

The dinar touched 17-year lows against the dollar

Saudi, UAE and Kuwait to announce measures to support Bahrain’s economy

Bahrain’s dinar plunged to a 17-year low against the US dollar as hedge funds dumped Bahraini bonds

Bahraini dinar touches 17-year low against dollar

Hedge funds dumped Bahraini bonds because of concern about the country’s rising public debt

Bahrain’s king asks government to reconsider pension, retirement laws

Earlier this month, Bahrain’s Council of Representatives rejected a proposed pension law

More than 1.25 million arrested in Saudi for labour law violations

The kingdom began its crackdown on illegal residents in November last year

Saudi dismisses entertainment chief, no replacement named

Ahmed al-Khatib was appointed in 2016 as chairman of the General Entertainment Authority