US efforts could only paper over the Gulf rift

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Special Session ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negotiated Settlement ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Secretary Of State

Significance A senior US administration official briefed in advance that the Saudi-Emirati rift with Qatar was to be “a key point of discussion”, with the possibility of a special session of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at Camp David in May. This is despite the dismissal of former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was a strong supporter of a negotiated settlement between Qatar and its GCC rivals. Impacts The GCC countries will intensify lobbying activities in Washington, over the crisis and other issues. The standoff will affect how the Pentagon and NATO plan their future operational and strategic postures vis-a-vis the GCC. The narrative of a ‘brotherhood’ between GCC members is unlikely to recover for many years. Failing a resolution, Qatari economic reliance on Iran (as well as on Turkey and ASEAN) could grow.

Board gender diversity and firms' social engagement in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Jizi ◽  
Rabih Nehme ◽  
Cynthia Melhem
Keyword(s):  
Social Engagement ◽  
Generalized Least Squares ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Foreign Direct Investments ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Thomson Reuters

PurposeThe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries form a unique socioeconomic environment that makes the conclusions of the prior literature not likely to be applicable. GCC countries have huge oil reserves, yet they are aiming at reducing oil dependency through enhancing transparency, increasing foreign direct investments and reforming their governance structure. Their firms are mainly family owned and have low female representation in leadership positions. The study seeks to fill a literature gap by providing a business case supporting the call for gender diverse boards for better governance.Design/methodology/approachThe study examines a sample of GCC-listed firms for the years 2009–2018. Three measures are used to proxy for firm social engagement, namely, CSR strategy score, environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure score and social pillar score. To ensure whether the presence of women on board or the number of women on board is influential on social engagements, the authors use the existence of women on board and the percentage of women on board variables. Data are collected using Thomson Reuters, and generalized least squares (GLS) panel data regression is used to estimate relationships.FindingsThe authors find that female representation on GCC corporate boards is increasing, yet in a slow path. The reported results support the role of women on boards in prompting firms' social agenda and enhancing the level of sustainability reporting. The results also show that female board representation supports the implementation of climate change policy, business ethics policy and health and safety policy.Originality/valueThe paper evidence the add value of women participation on GCC corporate boards in enhancing boards' functionality and governance. The empirical findings encourage firms and policymakers in the GCC countries to increase the share of females on corporate boards to improve firms' citizenship and facilitate attracting foreign investors.

scholarly journals Molecular Characterization of Carbapenemase-Producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in the Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council: Dominance of OXA-48 and NDM Producers

2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 3085-3090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hosam M. Zowawi ◽  
Anna L. Sartor ◽  
Hanan H. Balkhy ◽  
Timothy R. Walsh ◽  
Sameera M. Al Johani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Klebsiella Pneumoniae ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Mechanisms Of Resistance ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Carbapenem Resistant ◽  
Resistant Genes ◽  
Gcc Countries

ABSTRACTThe molecular epidemiology and mechanisms of resistance of carbapenem-resistantEnterobacteriaceae(CRE) were determined in hospitals in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), namely, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Isolates were subjected to PCR-based detection of antibiotic-resistant genes and repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) assessments of clonality. Sixty-two isolates which screened positive for potential carbapenemase production were assessed, and 45 were found to produce carbapenemase. The most common carbapenemases were of the OXA-48 (35 isolates) and NDM (16 isolates) types; 6 isolates were found to coproduce the OXA-48 and NDM types. No KPC-type, VIM-type, or IMP-type producers were detected. Multiple clones were detected with seven clusters of clonally relatedKlebsiella pneumoniae. Awareness of CRE in GCC countries has important implications for controlling the spread of CRE in the Middle East and in hospitals accommodating patients transferred from the region.

Prospects for the Gulf states to end-2020

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Spending ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Gulf States

Subject Prospects for the Gulf states to end-2020. Significance All Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have ordered large cuts in public spending. As governments implement economic measures to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, regional disputes including the war in Yemen, tensions with Iran and the Qatar boycott will remain high on the agenda. The GCC 's failure to seize the opportunity offered by the pandemic to reinvigorate cooperation to fight the disease reflects a deeper malaise.

Prospects for the Gulf states to end-2017

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Oil Revenue ◽  
Gulf States

Subject Prospects for the Gulf states to end-2017. Significance Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries agree on the need to check Iran’s regional aspirations, but differ radically on how to achieve this goal -- pushing Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to open confrontation with Qatar and leaving Kuwait and Oman caught uncomfortably in the middle. At the same time, they face the major challenge of adjusting their economies to long-term expectations of lower oil revenue.

Next-generation Gulf monarchs will set new rules

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Current Line ◽  
Economic Diversification ◽  
The West ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Social Liberalism

Significance This brings in different perspectives on issues such as economic diversification, social liberalism, Israel and the role of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Impacts Longstanding fears of family splits over the succession could persist in Kuwait and potentially Saudi Arabia. The GCC will become even less significant, lacking any economic, infrastructural or security role. Large-scale ‘giga-projects’ raise concerns that vanity is outweighing viability. The prospect of receding support from GCC countries could undermine entrenched elites in both the West Bank and Beirut. The upcoming ‘energy transition’ will face the current line-up of rulers with a unprecedented economic crisis in the coming years.

Macroeconomic evidence on the impact of mandatory IFRS adoption on FDI in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Youcef Mameche ◽  
Abdullah Masood
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Estimation Method ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Fdi Inflows ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ifrs Adoption ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Major Interest ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe present paper seeks to investigate the impact of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region for the period 1980–2017. This study relies on the information asymmetry theory, according to which IFRS adoption, as a positive signal for investors, should attract more FDI. This research is crucial and presents an interesting framework for providing a major motivation for empirical insights since the macroeconomic evidence on the impact of IFRS adoption on FDI is still unclear in the GCC region and no empirical evidence has been provided in the existing related literature.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis was conducted based on panel data from GCC countries over the period 1980–2017 and using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) modeling approach and the pooled mean group (PMG) estimation method.FindingsThe findings indicate that the decision of adopting IFRS in GCC countries has a positive impact of 3% on FDI inflows in the short run. However, the adoption of IFRS in the region leads to a decrease of 10.4 % in FDI inflows in the long run.Practical implicationsThese findings should be of a major interest to regulators and policymakers in GCC countries, practitioners and academic researchers, international investors, managers and any other interested groups about the accounting environment in GCC countries and other developing countries having an interest in the economic consequences of IFRS adoption, as a driver of FDI, in developing countries.Originality/valueThis investigation provides original empirical evidence on the effect of IFRS adoption on FDI inflows within the context of the GCC area. In fact, the current international literature is lacking empirical evidence on the effect of IFRS adoption on FDI inflows for the GCC countries as a whole. Furthermore, this study offers an original methodological contribution to the macroeconomic impact of IFRS adoption literature by using the PMG estimator since there has been no research works to date that has used this method of estimation.

Ownership concentration in the Gulf Cooperation Council

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irma Martinez-Garcia ◽  
Rodrigo Basco ◽  
Silvia Gomez-Anson ◽  
Narjess Boubakri
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Ownership Concentration ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
Pyramid Structures

PurposeThis article attempts to answer the following questions: Who ultimately owns firms listed in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries? Does ownership structure depend on the institutional context? How does ownership affect firm performance? Do institutional factors influence the ownership–performance relationship?Design/methodology/approachWe apply univariate analyses and generalised methods of moments estimations for a sample of 692 GCC listed firms during 2009–2015.FindingsOur results reveal that corporations are mainly controlled by the state or families, the ownership structure is highly concentrated and pyramid structures are common in the region. Ownership is more concentrated in non-financial than financial firms, and ownership concentration and shareholder identity differ by institutional country setting. Finally, ownership concentration does not influence performance, but formal institutions play a moderating role in the relationship.Practical implicationsAs our findings reveal potential type II agency problems due to ownership concentration, policymakers should raise awareness of professional corporate governance practices and tailor them to GCC countries’ institutional contexts.Social implicationsEven with the introduction of new regulations by some GCC states to protect minority investors and promote corporate governance practices, ownership concentration is a rigid structure, and its use by investors to protect their economic endowment and power is culturally embedded.Originality/valueAlthough previous studies have analysed ownership concentration and large shareholders’ identities across countries, this study fills a research gap investigating this phenomenon in-depth in emerging economies.

Design, qualification and Shariah governance of stock screening methodologies in selected Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in comparison with the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-209
Author(s):  
Umayal Kasi ◽  
Junaina Muhammad
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Muslim Countries ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Design Qualification ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Shariah Governance

Purpose This paper aims to compare and analyse the aspects of Shariah screening methodologies within the selected Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as well as comparing the methodologies with the USA, and to examine how Shariah screening methodologies affect financing and investing activities of a firm. Design/methodology/approach Shariah screening methodologies within the selected GCC countries and between the GCC countries and the USA are compared on the basis of the data collected from secondary sources. Findings Design, qualification and Shariah governance set the Shariah screening methodologies within the GCC countries apart. Feasibility, duration, economic viability and funds required differentiate these Shariah screening methodologies between the GCC countries and the USA. Shariah screening methodologies implied in the USA is more stringent than in the GCC countries. Research limitations/implications The suggestions in this study include using a longer research timeline, examining many more number of countries’ Shariah screening methodologies and exploring other types of Shariah screening methodologies. Practical implications The possibility of generalising the implementation of strict and uniform Shariah screening methodologies across all the country-specific Shariah indices amongst Muslim nations, globally, is likely to benefit all the Muslim countries, by strengthening the understanding, interaction and economic co-operation amongst these countries. Social implications People’s needs can be tended to if Maqasid Al-Shariah (objectives of Shariah) is achieved through flexibility, dynamism and creativity within the social policy. Originality/value Aspects of Shariah screening methodologies are compared and contrasted within the selected GCC countries as well as between the GCC countries and the United States and the role of Shariah screening methodologies is examined in order to determine the extent of what is Shariah-Compliant and what is Non-Shariah Compliant for a firm.

Visioning “smart city” across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries

foresight ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuti Saxena ◽  
Tariq Ali Said Mansour Al-Tamimi
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Economic Diversification ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Public And Private Sector

Purpose The study aims to underscore the initiatives taken by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in spearheading their drive towards creating “smart” cities. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a qualitative approach by invoking documentary analysis supplemented by responses provided by 13 interviewees from public and private sector. Findings All the six GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates) are keen on building upon their infrastructure to push their “smart city” agenda which would go a long way in furthering the economic diversification objective of their region besides improving the quality of public services. Originality/value Hitherto, research has been focused on appreciating the “smart city” initiatives of developed countries; this study seeks to build upon the literature on “smart cities” by contextualizing the research setting in the developing countries. Second, the study shows that with the ongoing oil prices crisis in the GCC, the “smart city” initiatives of the countries are conceived as possible avenues of economic diversification and competitiveness.

Bilateral will dominate Gulf UK and EU trade advances

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Transfers ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Gulf Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
European Engagement ◽  
Rights Issues ◽  
The Eu

Significance The post-Brexit United Kingdom is eager to conclude economic agreements across the world under its promise to deliver a ‘Global Britain’. The EU wants to increase its visible commercial clout in the Gulf and strengthen its image as a significant geopolitical actor. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are ready to seize the opportunity to boost technology transfers. Impacts The Gulf countries’ increasingly serious shift towards green energy could be a major driver for increased European engagement. The GCC countries will seek further investment in their respective education sectors. Differences in perspective on human rights issues will lead to tension within the EU itself, as well as with the GCC.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document