Time was when the Middle East’s petrostates recoiled from using their crown jewels to raise money from foreign investors.
Not any more. In the space of a few weeks, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait have all accelerated multi-billion-dollar plans to sell energy assets or issue bonds off the back of them. Capping that trend, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Tuesday the kingdom is in talks with an unidentified “global energy company” to sell a stake worth about $20 billion in state oil firm Aramco.
The shift underscores how countries in a region that’s home to almost half the world’s oil reserves are taking advantage of the recovery in energy prices following last year’s coronavirus-triggered crash to bolster their ailing finances. The global transition to greener energy is only adding to the urgency, with governments requiring fresh funds to invest in new sectors and diversify their economies. And investors, hobbled by record
Mideast Petrostates Ramp Up Oil-Asset Sales to Raise Billions
Bloomberg 4/28/2021
(Bloomberg)
Time was when the Middle East’s petrostates recoiled from using their crown jewels to raise money from foreign investors.
Not any more. In the space of a few weeks, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait have all accelerated multi-billion-dollar plans to sell energy assets or issue bonds off the back of them. Capping that trend, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Tuesday the kingdom is in talks with an unidentified “global energy company” to sell a stake worth about $20 billion in state oil firm Aramco.
By: Times News Service
Muscat: His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik has issued two Royal Decrees, Oman News Agency, ( ONA ), said on Tuesday.
A statement issued online by ONA said:” His Majesty the Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik issues two Royal Decrees, the first stipulated the approval of the Sultanate’s accession to the Arab Framework Agreement for the Liberation of Trade in Services between Arab countries, and the second of the ratification of an agreement between the Sultanate’s government and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania on the mutual exemption from visas for holders of diplomatic, special and service passports.