#Oman Plans 2021 Borrowing as Oil Price, Virus Batter Economy - Bloomberg

Oman Plans 2021 Borrowing as Oil Price, Virus Batter Economy - Bloomberg

Oman’s government will finance most of its budget shortfall in 2021 by borrowing to plug a fiscal gap battered by a decline in oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic.

The Persian Gulf state is looking into borrowing that will cover 73%, or 1.6 billion rials ($4.2 billion), of the country’s 2.2 billion-rial shortfall, with the remaining 600 million rials to be drawn from its reserves, according to a post on Twitter by the state-run Oman News Agency on Friday. The government based its 2021 budget plan on an oil price of $45 per barrel.

Etihad stake in Air Serbia cut to 18% after government steps in | Reuters

Etihad stake in Air Serbia cut to 18% after government steps in | Reuters

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways’ stake in Air Serbia has been cut to 18% from 49% after the Serbian government recapitalised the airline, Air Serbia said on its website.

The state has increased its stake in Air Serbia to 82% from 51%, a step the airline said was undertaken to help it through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The recapitalisation of the Serbian national airline was undertaken at the request of Air Serbia,” the statement said.

Etihad Airways, which bought a 49% stake in Serbia’s loss-making JAT Airways - later renamed Air Serbia - in 2013, confirmed in an email its stake had been diluted to 18%.

Why Gulf investors may be attracted by the UK's post-Brexit property market - Arabianbusiness

Why Gulf investors may be attracted by the UK's post-Brexit property market - Arabianbusiness

The post-Brexit UK property market offers strong long-term profit potential for international buyers, according to experts.

Britain’s freshly-minted EU deal and the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine in the first half of 2021 will boost the country’s post-pandemic economic recovery, leading to house price growth of eight percent on average by 2023, said UK-headquartered property consultants Hamptons International.

However, there will be short-term flat growth in 2021 as the economic consequences of a coronavirus-induced recession pull the housing market from its long-term growth trajectory, according to Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons International.

“Following the end of the stamp duty holiday in April we expect the housing market to weaken, particularly as unemployment is expected to peak around this time too. But an economic recovery in H2 2021 will support the housing market, and we expect house prices to stabilise towards the end of the year,” Beveridge told Arabian Business.