S&P: UAE’s Sharjah and RAK Outlooks Lowered to Negative due to COVID-19 and Oil Price Impact

Two of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) seven Emirates, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) have had their outlooks downgraded from ‘Stable’ to ‘Negative’ by  S&P Global Ratings (S&P). S&P has downgraded these two Emirates citing the financial implications of lower oil prices as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. 

S&P noted that it expects the economies of Sharjah and RAK to contract respectively, by 3% and 2% in 2020, due to lower oil prices and the COVID-19 outbreak. On a positive note, S&P predicted that both economies would recover in 2021. 

The RAK Administration has responded to the outlook change and stated that its debt load was small...