Bulletin: Abu Dhabi Ratings Already Capture The Risks From Unpredictable Gulf Geopolitics

DUBAI (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 18, 2022--S&P Global Ratings today said that explosions in Abu Dhabi (AA/Stable/A-1+), which initial reports suggest were due to drone strikes orchestrated by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, reflect geopolitical risks already factored into our sovereign ratings. We understand the United Arab Emirates (UAE), of which Abu Dhabi is the largest emirate, has sophisticated air defense capabilities. The most recent Houthi attack was therefore somewhat unexpected. The Houthis have threatened further attacks on the UAE. Under our base-case scenario, however, we expect damage to infrastructure to be manageable given the relatively limited destructive capacity of the attacks so far. In our view, the exceptional strength of the government of Abu Dhabi's balance sheet remains a key support

...DUBAI (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 18, 2022--S&P Global Ratings today said that explosions in Abu Dhabi (##/Stable/A-1+), which initial reports suggest were due to drone strikes orchestrated by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, reflect geopolitical risks already factored into our sovereign ratings. We understand the United Arab Emirates (UAE), of which Abu Dhabi is the largest emirate, has sophisticated air defense capabilities. The most recent Houthi attack was therefore somewhat unexpected. The Houthis have threatened further attacks on the UAE. Under our base-case scenario, however, we expect damage to infrastructure to be manageable given the relatively limited destructive capacity of the attacks so far. In our view, the exceptional strength of the government of Abu Dhabi's balance sheet remains a key support for the ratings. This is despite our assumption of high geopolitical uncertainty in the wider Gulf region resulting in unpredictable adverse developments such as these attacks in Abu...

Bulletin