Wednesday, 14 March 2012

Bahrain Credit Risk Rises as Protests Irk Investors: Arab Credit - Businessweek

Bahrain’s credit risk is rebounding from a four-month low after anti-government rallies stoked foreign investor concern the Persian Gulf state won’t overcome last year’s protests.

The cost to insure Bahrain’s debt against non-payment for five years climbed six basis points, or 0.06 percentage points, since falling to 366 on March 8. A day later, demonstrators belonging mainly to the nation’s Shiite Muslim majority held one of its largest rallies on a major highway outside the capital Manama, pushing credit default swaps to 371 yesterday, according to data provider CMA. That’s double what it was before the Arab uprisings started early last year.

Protests by mostly Shiites protesters demanding equal rights with the Sunni Muslim minority underscore the kingdom’s struggle to hang on to its status as a financial center in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council. The smallest GCC economy is set to grow at the region’s slowest pace in 2012, estimates compiled by Bloomberg show.

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