Bahrain Approves 2019-22 Govt. Action Plan

Bahraini lawmakers meet at parliament. (AP file photo)
Bahraini lawmakers meet at parliament. (AP file photo)
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Bahrain Approves 2019-22 Govt. Action Plan

Bahraini lawmakers meet at parliament. (AP file photo)
Bahraini lawmakers meet at parliament. (AP file photo)

The Bahraini parliament approved on Tuesday 2019-2022 Government Action Plan. The plan focuses on empowering the private sector, elevating the government work-environment, enhancing investment climate, cutting down expenditures and exploiting water resources.

The government seeks to implement a four-year action plan that bolsters the Fiscal Balance Program launched in October 2018 and funded by Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait.

To ensure fiscal balance in Bahrain, the program grants the kingdom USD10 billion to achieve the balance between expenditures and government revenues by 2022.

Prime Minister Emir Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa said that the parliament’s approval is a step forward towards achieving joint aspirations between the legislative and executive authorities to achieve the visions of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

In a statement on Tuesday, Emir Khalifa said that the cooperation between the two authorities will remain an anchor in national work, a backbone of development and the building on achievements, in addition to the development of services and seeking more gains for citizens.

He noted that the government is keen to interact quickly and positively with all parliament and Shura Council proposals.



Lebanon Bonds Rally to Fresh Two-year High on Ceasefire Hopes

A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Lebanon Bonds Rally to Fresh Two-year High on Ceasefire Hopes

A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanon's deeply distressed sovereign dollar bonds hit a fresh two-year high on Tuesday as investors bet that a potential ceasefire with Israel could improve the country's prospects.

The bonds, which are still trading below 10 cents on the dollar, have gained more than 3% this week. The 2031 maturity was biding at 9.3 cents on the dollar, its highest since May 2022, according to Reuters.

"Some investors are mulling if it is a right time to buy, since a ceasefire is the first step needed to at some point in time restructure bonds," said Bruno Gennari, emerging markets strategist with KNG Securities International.

Israel's cabinet is expected to convene on Tuesday to discuss, and likely approve, a US plan for a ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, a senior Israeli official said.

Israeli airstrikes, which continued on Tuesday, have decimated Lebanon's infrastructure and killed thousands.

But the counterintuitive rally, the second since Israel began bombing the country in September, was driven by bets that the deal could jolt Lebanon's fractured political system and revive efforts to pull the country out of default.