FOCUS: GCC economies badly affected by COVID 19 amid tumbling oil price and lockdown

FOCUS: GCC economies badly affected by COVID 19 amid tumbling oil price and lockdown

FOCUS: GCC economies badly affected by COVID 19 amid tumbling oil price and lockdown /node/1651751. GCC economies were also heavily affected by the impact of the virus, as most of them went into lockdown during March and suspended air travel.. Real estate is another important sector that was badly impacted by the shutdown of economies.. The real estate sector in the UAE reached lows last seen in 2010.. Troubled hospital operator NMC defaulting on a $980 million loan has hit the portfolios of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Commercial Bank of Dubai, as well as others.. Expect the portfolios of banks throughout the region to deteriorate further as the outlook on the economies worsens.. Bahrain is the smallest of the GCC economies and by far the worst affected by the downturn.. If the crisis proved anything, it is that the strategy of Vision 2030 weaning the Saudi economy off its dependency on oil was correct, timely and important.. While the dollar peg of the currencies may be expensive to maintain amid the greenback's status as a haven currency, it does provide stability and investor confidence, especially as all GCC economies will need to look at foreign investment as oil