Fitch Ratings yesterday put Qatar on its watchlist for a possible credit rating downgrade, becoming the third major credit rating agency to warn about the implications of sanctions imposed several Arab countries.
The move by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt on June 5 to sever diplomatic and economic relations, has already led to similar credit warnings by Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s (S&P), with the latter actually downgrading Qatar with a potential immediate impact on its borrowing costs.
The three Gulf states and Egypt expelled Qatari citizens and blocked access to and from their air, land and sea territory, accusing Qatar of funding terrorism and aggravating regional tensions.
As with the others, Fitch warned of the negative impact on Qatar’s economy of a deepening and prolonged crisis. Currently, Kuwait is leading regional efforts to mediate between Qatar and the Arab countries.
“While some discussions have taken place to resolve the crisis, it is becoming more likely that the crisis will be sustained and negatively affect Qatar’s economy and its credit metrics,” said Krisjanis Krustins, Fitch’s lead analyst for the Gulf.
“Qatar has been dependent on imports from its neighbours and on goods shipped from outside the region via the key port of Jebel Ali in the UAE. It is likely that given its vast resources Qatar will be able to handle strains on supplies of food and other goods, but at a cost, which might eventually be borne by the government.”
Iran said on Sunday that it had sent five planeloads of foodstuffs to Doha to help fill the gap left by the closing of regional ports, which normally supply much of Qatar’s consumer goods.
Iranian officials said they plan to send 100 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables daily to Qatar, a move which itself threatens to exacerbate the diplomatic tensions as Qatar’s rapprochement with Iran was cited as one of the reasons for the Saudi-led action.
S&P cut its rating on Qatar last week from AA to AA-, while Moody’s had already downgraded its rating to Aa3 from Aa2 last month, before the diplomatic crisis, citing economic worri es.
S&P estimated Qatar’s external debt to stand at about US$50 billion at the end of April.
Qatar has built up enough savings to fund deficits at current levels for another 20 years, Mr Krustins acknowledges. But he says the risks posed by this diplomatic dispute have complicated the picture, with an escalated and prolonged situation threatening to disrupt Qatar’s financial flows, its plans to diversify the economy, including building up tourism as it gears up to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup, and to put strain on its public finances.
Qatar is a relatively small oil exporter but is the world’s leading supplier of internationally-traded liquefied natural gas (LNG), which had already been suffering from a supply glut and price slump for the last several years.
The sanctions put it in a weaker bargaining position with LNG buyers, particularly its biggest clients in Japan, which buys about 13 per cent of its LNG from Qatar. Jera, a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Co and Chubu Electric Power Co, has LNG contract negotiations coming up soon with Qatar.
amcauley@thenational.ae
Follow The National's Business section on Twitter
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDirect%20Debit%20System%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sept%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20with%20a%20subsidiary%20in%20the%20UK%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elaine%20Jones%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A