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Bahrain’s main political opposition groups had already said they might boycott upcoming elections but, on 11 October, they confirmed they would not participate in either the parliamentary or municipal polls due to take place on 22 November. Four opposition groups – Al-Wefaq, Waad, Al-Qawmi and Ekhaa – said that “a lack of positive movements from the authorities” had rendered their decision “unavoidable”. “What is clear is that an electoral process cannot be a substitute for dialogue,” Al-Wefaq said in a document outlining its position.

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), together with partner Brookfield Property Partners, has succeeded in its bid to buy Songbird Estates, which manages London’s Canary Wharf. In a statement on 30 January, Songbird noted that QIA and Brookfield – seeking to buy Songbird through their 50:50 venture Bidco – had received support from around 64.8% of shareholders.

As oil minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has described it, the 14 November agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG – see main story) includes three provisions: one, Baghdad will make a budget payment of $500m; two, the KRG will export 150,000 b/d of crude through the federal system; and three, KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani will then lead a delegation to Baghdad for further talks. This icebreaker involves a modest policy compromise for the KRG since it means exporting through the federal State Organisation for the Marketing of Oil, something it has pledged never to do again.

Saudi authorities have charged two individuals in connection with a bribery case involving the purchase by Saudi Aramco of three business jets worth $93m from Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. The Brazilian company announced on 24 October that it had agreed to pay fines totalling $205m to US and Brazilian Authorities, ending an investigation into bribery and corruption involving aircraft sales to Saudi Arabia, Mozambique, India and the Dominican Republic.

Qatar has been granted a $1bn licence to invest in Chinese capital markets, according to newswires.

Despite moves to mobilise new finance, concern is growing in Morocco about the financial health of the North African kingdom’s only refinery, operated by Société Marocaine d’Industrie de Raffinage (Samir) at Mohammedia, and its ability to remain the dominant player in the national products market. This follows the announcement of losses in 2014 and questions about the ability and appetite of the refinery’s owner, Saudi-Ethiopian magnate Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi, to meet heavy financial costs.

Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) governments have been raising debt and cutting budgets in an attempt to keep ballooning fiscal deficits under control, as the costs involved in locking down economies to limit the spread of Covid-19 are compounded by the oil price collapse.The scale of the challenge was made clear in the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), released on 14 April. The WEO predicts double-digit deficits for five GCC states, ranging from 11.1% of GDP in the case of the UAE to 16.9% for Oman.

Iraq’s new finance minister, Hoshyar Zebari, said on 4 November that the Iraqi government had spent more than $1bn financing Shiite militias as part of its fight against the Islamic State (ISIL) extremist group. In an interview with Reuters, Zebari accused Iraqi leaders past and present of mismanagement, poor planning and failing to reach out to Sunni tribesmen, whom he sees as the only group able to defeat ISIL on the ground. “Part of the economic and financial problem we have is this expenditure on the popular committees, on the militias, on the army, on the contracts,” he said.

Qatar is interested in buying minority stakes in state oil company Petrobras and in a major financial institution, Banco do Brasil

The government has set out spending plans of KD21.2bn ($70bn) for fiscal year 2017/18 and plans to bring in revenues of KD13.3bn, leaving a deficit of KD7.9bn according to the Finance Ministry. The budget is based on an average oil price of $45/bbl, with expected oil revenues of KD11.7bn, up 36% on 2016/17. The deficit is far higher than anticipated (Dubai-based Emirates NBD had estimated KD3bn). The government has also launched the New Kuwait long-term economic strategy, based around the pursuit of a diversified economy and high-quality infrastructure by 2035.

While the Dubai property market shows marked signs of cooling down (see below), investors in the UAE and other Gulf states show little sign of losing their enthusiasm for buying property in London, which along with New York and a very few other locations is an acknowledged global safe haven for parking assets out of potential harm’s way. (A variety of sources report that the UK’s heated ‘Brexit’ debate over possible departure from the European Union has elicited barely a murmur from Gulf investors, who see business continuing more or less as usual in London whatever happens.)

A surge in credit default swap rates reveals clear concern over the safety of international equity

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed its 2013 Article IV consultations with Oman and Saudi Arabia and said the following: Oman: Oman’s strong economic performance has been supported by favourable developments in the oil market, and the near-term outlook remains positive. The economy continued to grow in 2012: GDP growth is projected to have reached 5.0% in 2012 up from 4.5% in 2011. Saudi Arabia: Growth, which was 5.1% in 2012, is expected to slow to 4% in 2013 because of lower oil production and slower government spending growth. Private sector growth is expected to remain strong.

After a turbulent year for several GCC economies, private sector underwriters and trade finance banks say they will remain wary of Saudi trade paper until a clearer understanding emerges of how much the Saad Group crisis is going to cost banks in the region.

The takeover by Oman Arab Bank of Alizz Islamic Bank looks set to go ahead, after the Central Bank of Oman gave its approval for the deal. The development was announced in a statement by Alizz to the Muscat Securities Market on 21 April. Alizz says it is now seeking further regulatory approval from the Capital Market Authority and other bodies. Alizz Islamic Bank was founded in 2013 by Sayyid Taimur Bin Assad Bin Tariq Al-Said, nephew of the new ruler Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq.