GPCA Warns India against Harm of Protectionist Measures on MEG Imports from the GCC

GPCA Secretary General Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
GPCA Secretary General Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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GPCA Warns India against Harm of Protectionist Measures on MEG Imports from the GCC

GPCA Secretary General Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
GPCA Secretary General Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

India’s recent adoption of trade protectionist measures on mono ethylene glycol (MEG) imports from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia is damaging to its domestic market, the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) has warned.

The comments come after India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) initiated a new anti-dumping investigation into MEG imports from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United States on June 28, 2021. The investigation – described by GPCA as “unjustified” and in breach of the rules laid by the World Trade Organization – was prompted by an application from two of India’s heavyweight chemical manufacturers.

The news alarmingly comes only a few months after India terminated another anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of MEG originating in or exported from Saudi Arabia (on April 6, 2020), Kuwait, Oman, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates (on November 20, 2020), after the application filed by one of the two companies was withdrawn following extensive diplomatic and political engagement.

GPCA has called for the immediate termination of the investigation in line with India’s obligations under the WTO Agreements, of which the country is a member.

The association further noted that since the establishment of the WTO in 1995, India has initiated 23 anti-dumping investigations and imposed seven anti-dumping measures against Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. This figure is more than four times the number of investigations initiated, and measures imposed by any other WTO member.

According to a report by India’s Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, India is net short of MEG with current demand of around 2.5 million metric tons (MT).

As this shortfall is expected to continue, GPCA warned India will need to import more MEG to satisfy domestic demand and ensure that prices are sustainable.

The continuous pursual of trade protectionist measures against countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which represent India’s largest chemicals import partner, could not only prove damaging to its domestic market, but also jeopardize exports, thereby creating a bottleneck.

“The new anti-dumping application is utterly unjustified as it is not based on valid legal and factual grounds. It also lacks evidence of MEG imports being dumped from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait,” said GPCA Secretary General Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun.

“The price at which MEG feedstock is imported from the two GCC states is based on market considerations and is in fact not different for MEG that is sold domestically or exported,” he added.

“Furthermore, there was no spike in MEG export volume from the two countries to India during the period of investigation (January 1, 2020 –December 31, 2020). Rather, there was a decline in comparison to the previous year.”

“To state that India’s MEG industry is suffering a material injury would be simply untrue. I can certify with confidence that from the research that GPCA has conducted and the facts on the ground, MEG imports from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia cannot have negatively impacted India’s domestic industry’s performance.”



S&P Reaffirms Sultanate of Oman’s Sovereign Credit Rating at ‘BBB-’

S&P reaffirmed the Sultanate of Oman’s long-term sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-’ Asharq Al-Awsat
S&P reaffirmed the Sultanate of Oman’s long-term sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-’ Asharq Al-Awsat
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S&P Reaffirms Sultanate of Oman’s Sovereign Credit Rating at ‘BBB-’

S&P reaffirmed the Sultanate of Oman’s long-term sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-’ Asharq Al-Awsat
S&P reaffirmed the Sultanate of Oman’s long-term sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-’ Asharq Al-Awsat

Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings (S&P) has reaffirmed the Sultanate of Oman’s long-term sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-’ with a Stable Outlook, citing the government’s ongoing efforts to reduce public debt and the continued improvement in the State’s fiscal performance.

Last September, S&P had upgraded the country’s long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings from 'BB+' to 'BBB-'.

The agency confirmed that the Sultanate’s credit rating may witness further improvement over the next two years if the government continues to manage the country’s public finances as planned, including increasing non-oil revenues and improving the efficiency of public spending.

It noted that these measures are expected to continue to boost GDP growth, supported by continued growth in non-oil GDP, in addition to continuing measures aimed at promoting the establishment and growth of companies and projects that support economic diversification activities and operations, in addition to initiatives to develop the capital market sector.

The agency noted in its report that the Sultanate has made significant progress in recent years in addressing the structural challenges it faced, including the large deficit in the state’s general budget and balance of payments.

It expected Oman’s real GDP to grow by 2% in the next three years (2025-2028), while the net public debt is expected to decrease to an average of GDP by 1.5% between 2025-2028.

This is attributed, according to the agency, to the assumption that the average price of Brent crude will reach $70 per barrel over the next two years, compared to $81 per barrel in 2024, in addition to a decline in oil production due to the Sultanate of Oman’s commitment to voluntary cuts under the OPEC+ agreement.

The agency also expects the current account to record a financial surplus averaging 1.3% of GDP during the period 2025-2028, noting that Oman has been able to cover the large deficits.

Standard & Poor’s expected inflation rates to remain at moderate levels, averaging about 1.5% annually during the period 2025-2028, after reaching about 1% in 2024.

The agency said the success of the Sultanate’s efforts to reduce total public debt from 68% of GDP in 2020 to 36% in 2024.

It also expects highly liquid assets to remain close to 40% of GDP during the period 2025-2028.

Also, the agency commended the efforts made to develop the hydrogen production sector, in light of Oman’s intention to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, which will enable the country to become one of the leading hydrogen exporters by 2030.