JUNEASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8NEWSROOMUAE TO REMAIN RAPID GROWING ECONOMY IN GCC IN 2024 & 2025Saudi has surpassed China as the key issuer of international debt among growing markets, ending Beijing's 12-year dominance in the same. This year, the Gulf nation is borrowing at an unprecedented rate, with an increase in new bond sales driven by both government and business entities. The rise is due to the growing support for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan among global debt investors. In the meantime, Chinese borrowers are seeing a lot of demand in local-currency bonds. As a result, they are issuing fewer international issuance, which is one of the lowest in recent years.Saudi Arabia surpassing China in international debt issuance is a big deal because of the fact that the previous country's economy is much smaller, around 1/sixteenth the size of China's. By 2030, the nation in the Gulf intends to establish itself as a significant global business hub. Investors are confident that the nation will raise funds to fund projects that can reduce its economy's reliance on oil, according to the report's cited data. The country is also proposing to position itself as a connection among Asia and Europe. At the same time, bond issuance in other emerging nations are also having a positive year as well. Bond sales by Saudi Arabian entities have increased by 8percent so far this year, exceeding $33 billion in total. The government alone makes up the greater part of this sum, which incorporates a $5 billion dollar-denominated sukuk deal last month. The UAE will keep up with its situation as the quickest developing economy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region in 2024 and 2025 as it will actually want to raise oil yield sooner than other oil-delivering nations in the Opec+ bunch, financial experts said.Mena region economist James Swanston predicted that the UAE's GDP would rise by 5.5percent in 2025, surpassing that of its Gulf peers and the rest of the wider regional nations."The UAE will be able to raise oil output sooner than other Opec+ members. Its balance sheet is very strong and should not be challenged by lower oil prices, allowing fiscal policy to stay loose. As a result, the UAE will keep its position as the fastest-growing economy in the Gulf both this year and next," Swanston said in a note.In order to support the market in the face of rising US production and sluggish demand, Opec+ agreed earlier this month to extend the majority of its oil output cuts into the following year. The members of the group that produced oil were making 5.86 million barrels of oil per day."Following this month's OPEC+ decision, the UAE is set to start unwinding its voluntary oil output cuts from October and, from January, can take advantage of its newly raised base quota. The upshot is that oil output will be 6 percent stronger in 2025 than we previously anticipated. Meanwhile, we expect Brent crude prices to average $83 per barrel this year and $75 per barrel in 2025, which is well above fiscal and current account break-even prices. With large twin surpluses, the UAE government can continue with a loose fiscal stance," he added. SAUDI LEADS GROWING MARKETS IN BOND ISSUANCE, SURPASSES CHINAJUNEASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8
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