A report by the Economic and Financial Research Department of the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) showed a decline in bonds’ incomes in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries affected by the high oil prices, which in turn contributed to the fiscal consolidation.
According to the report, the sovereign debt instruments have increased at the regional level, led by Saudi Arabia against the background of its exploitation of the lower borrowing costs, the credit rating quality and the international investors on regional debt issuances in general especially Saudi Arabia. The regional bond profits are expected to continue to fall during the current year in light of lower interest rates and the moderation of inflation rates, while the bonds’ issuance may increase at the regional level after its modest performance in 2018.
The report showed also that the factors such as slowing global growth, the signs of easing monetary policies, the low inflation and the effects of trade war led to the continued decline in the benchmark index of the global bond earnings in the first quarter of 2019.
Source (Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper)
