Credit FAQ: Potential Implications Of Qatar Boycott For Gulf Cooperation Council Sovereigns

In this article, S&P Global Ratings addresses some of the most common questions that have surfaced in recent discussions with issuers and investors about the implications for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) sovereigns of the boycott of Qatar by a group of Arab states. The group includes Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. The impact of this group cutting diplomatic ties, as well as trade and transport links, with Qatar on June 5, 2017, may not be confined to within Qatar's borders, in our view (see "Qatar Long-Term Rating Lowered To 'AA-'; On Watch Negative After Six Arab Countries Sever Ties," published June 7, 2017). We expect that political tensions within the GCC will persist

...In this article, S&P Global Ratings addresses some of the most common questions that have surfaced in recent discussions with issuers and investors about the implications for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) sovereigns of the boycott of Qatar by a group of Arab states. The group includes Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. The impact of this group cutting diplomatic ties, as well as trade and transport links, with Qatar on June 5, 2017, may not be confined to within Qatar's borders, in our view (see "Qatar Long-Term Rating Lowered To '##-'; On Watch Negative After Six Arab Countries Sever Ties," published June 7, 2017). We expect that political tensions within the GCC will persist over the next few years, and believe that the boycott of Qatar has illustrated deeper fissures within the group than were previously evident. For the most part, we have viewed the GCC as a stable political alliance in the Arab region. The GCC broadly maintained this stability...

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