| The Arab energy exporting states of the Gulf can cope comfortably with sliding oil prices, an International Monetary Fund official said on Tuesday, as a plunge in regional stock markets showed some local investors were panicking. Most of the GCC countries have quite significant buffers in the form of foreign assets in sovereign wealth funds or central banks, plus most of these countries have a capacity to borrow, so there is no need now for a very steep and quick reduction of spending, which would not necessarily be desirable.
Abu Dhabi's largest sovereign wealth fund is believed to have nearly $800 billion of assets, roughly twice the UAE's entire annual gross domestic product, so it could cover many years of budget deficits.............................................Full Article: Source
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