Kuwait to raise debt ceiling, borrow more
KUWAIT CITY, April 4, (Agencies): Kuwait will increase its public debt ceiling to 20 billion dinars ($65.62 billion) from 10 billion and increase the maximum maturity of the bonds it can issue to 30 years from 10, the minister of finance told reporters on Tuesday.
The government also plans to introduce sukuk as one of its available debt instruments, Finance Minister Anas AlSaleh said.
Kuwait sold $8 billion of five- and 10-year bonds in March, its first international bond sale. Gulf neighbours including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman, have successfully sold longer-dated debt over the past few months.
Kuwait will maintain presence in the international bonds and sukuks’ markets according to a well-calculated strategy, simultaneously with economic and financial reforms, spearheaded by the State, said the minister who also underlined privatization as a strategic option among the measures to shore up the economy and diversify financial resources and income.
Noting that the second phase of the multi-stage reforming process is currently in execution, the minister indicated that he was looking forward to constructive cooperation with the parliament to carry on with the reforms.
In a statement at the forum session earlier Tuesday, he stressed on the necessity to maintain the process of reforms
and privatization, along with safeguarding rights of personnel serving in the sectors that would be privatized.
He affirmed the approach to tackle defects in the State budget which dropped to KD 21 billion (some $69 billion), years ago, to KD 18 billion ($58.8 billion).
Budget of the fiscal year (20162016) posted fall of current spending by KD 1.1 bilion (some $3.4 billion), he said, reiterating the approach to boost investment spending and the banking sector’s contribution to funding development ventures.
Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority has already drawn KD 600 million ($1.9 billion) worth of enterprises. Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP), which also plays a key role in bolstering presence of the private sector in the national economy, currently has 12 projects, due to be privatized.
Among these projects is the first AlZor power plant, he said, indicating that a foreign investor is allowed to 30 percent of stakes in such ventures, while the government retains 20 percent. The remaining 50 percent shares are allotted for public subscription.