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Moody’s Places Israel’s A1 Ratings on Review for Possible Downgrade 

A demonstrator carries a banner decorated with the Israeli flag prior to a march in support for Israel in West Los Angeles to the Museum of Tolerance, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. (AP)
A demonstrator carries a banner decorated with the Israeli flag prior to a march in support for Israel in West Los Angeles to the Museum of Tolerance, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. (AP)
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Moody’s Places Israel’s A1 Ratings on Review for Possible Downgrade 

A demonstrator carries a banner decorated with the Israeli flag prior to a march in support for Israel in West Los Angeles to the Museum of Tolerance, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. (AP)
A demonstrator carries a banner decorated with the Israeli flag prior to a march in support for Israel in West Los Angeles to the Museum of Tolerance, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. (AP)

Global ratings agency Moody's on Thursday placed Israel's A1 ratings on review for a possible downgrade, citing the ongoing military conflict with the Palestinian group Hamas.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops gathered at the Gaza border on Thursday that they would soon see the Palestinian enclave "from inside", suggesting an expected ground invasion with the aim of annihilating Hamas could be nearing.

"While a short-lived conflict could still have credit impact, the longer lasting and more severe the military conflict, the greater its impact is likely to be on policy effectiveness, public finances and the economy," Moody's said.

There has been a huge spike in the cost of insuring Israel's government debt using what are known as credit default swaps (CDS). Investors use CDS either as a protection tool or to speculate and last week the cost of buying Israel CDS surged 80%.

Israel has never been downgraded by any of the three main ratings agencies - S&P Global, Moody's and Fitch.

Earlier this week, rival rating agency Fitch placed the country on rating watch negative and warned a major escalation of the ongoing conflict could result in a negative rating action.

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Saudi Oil Giant Expands Investments Through Local, International Acquisitions

Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Oil Giant Expands Investments Through Local, International Acquisitions

Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Aramco has made a series of local and international acquisitions to expand its business and fulfill its commitment to its partners to achieve its long-term strategy.
On Wednesday, the company announced its acquisition of an additional stake of 22.5% in Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical (Petro Rabigh), a refining and petrochemical complex located on Saudi Arabia’s west coast, in a $702 million (SAR 2.63 billion) transaction.
Aramco also signed a definitive agreement to purchase the shares, worth SAR 7 per share, from Tokyo-based Sumitomo Chemical. Both companies currently each own 37.5% of the shares in Petro Rabigh, which was listed on the Saudi Exchange in 2008.
In March, Aramco successfully completed the acquisition of a 100% equity stake in Esmax Distribución SpA (“Esmax”), a leading diversified downstream fuels and lubricants retailer in Chile. Esmax has a national presence that includes retail fuel stations, airport operations, fuel distribution terminals and a lubricant blending plant.

In September 2023, Aramco signed definitive agreements to acquire a strategic minority stake in MidOcean Energy for $500 million. MidOcean Energy is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) company formed and managed by EIG, a leading institutional investor in the global energy and infrastructure sectors.
This strategic partnership with MidOcean Energy marked Aramco’s first international investment in LNG.
Moreover, in May 2024, Aramco made further progress in its global retail expansion by completing the acquisition of a 40% equity stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan Ltd. (“GO”).
GO is a diversified downstream fuels, lubricants and retail store operator in Pakistan with a network of more than 1,200 retail fuel stations. The acquisition, first announced in December 2023, represented Aramco’s first downstream retail investment in Pakistan and signaled the company’s growing retail presence in high-value markets.
In June this year, Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”).
HORSE Powertrain Limited was formed on May 31, 2024, by Renault Group and Geely and is incorporated and headquartered in London.
Commenting on the signing of the recent agreement with Petro Rabigh, Hussain Al-Qahtani, Aramco Senior Vice President of Fuels, said: “Aramco continues to identify opportunities to strengthen its downstream value chain, secure placement of its upstream crude oil with affiliated refineries, and convert more of its hydrocarbons into high-value materials.”
He continued: “By increasing our shareholding, we expect to achieve even closer integration with Petro Rabigh and facilitate its turnaround strategy. We look forward to building on our existing relationship with Petro Rabigh, in alignment with our strategic goals.”