Standard & Poor's agency expects the government funding deficit in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to exceed $180 billion in 2020 due to lower oil prices and the economic repercussions of COVID-19.
According to the rating agency, the sudden rise in the deficit will increase the demand for debt issuances across the region.
Standard & Poor's expects that the total government debt of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries will increase by a record rate of about $100 billion in 2020, revealing that an additional $80 billion in government assets will finance the total deficit of the central government in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries of about $180 billion.
Standard & Poor's agency also expects that the balance sheets of the government of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries will continue to deteriorate until 2023. Indicating that the deficit of the central governments of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries will reach about $490 billion, cumulatively between 2020 and 2023, revealing that about 55% of this deficit is for Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the GCC, followed by Kuwait at 17% and Abu Dhabi at 11%.
Source (Economic Bulletin Website, Edited)
