KPTC loses 57 pc of its market share in last five years: report

Kuwaitis second highest shoppers in Turkish cities after Saudis

KUWAIT CITY, June 8: According to a report issued by a regulatory authority, Kuwait Public Transportation Company (KPTC) has lost 57 percent of its market share in the last five years, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The report showed accumulated losses totaling KD 51 million from 2009 to 2015, while capital eroded by 88 percent after the use of its reserves to cover some of the losses. This exposes the company to dissolution in accordance with the Companies Law.

The report also recorded the company’s loss of KD 2.4 million due to its lack of commitment to increase the investment values of its sites in accordance with the average values of the consulting companies that assigned them. It also recorded varying rates of increase in the investment sites of the company among the investors, a matter described by the State Audit Bureau as injustice.

When it comes to shopping in Turkish cities, Kuwaitis take the second highest position after the Saudis, reports Al-Qabas daily.

Director of Global Blue Turkey Salim Sheikhoun revealed that Saudi nationals emerged as the top shoppers in Turkey during the first four months of 2017.

“The amount spent by the Saudis for shopping during the first four months of this year has increased by 8 percent compared to the same period of 2016”, said Sheikhoun, whose company specializes in reinstatement of added value of foreign shoppers in Turkey.

In the first half of this year, foreigners spent about 400 million Turkish liras (about $113 million) for shopping in Turkey. About 31.9 percent of them were Saudis, followed by Kuwaitis at 24.5 percent, Iranians 21 percent and Qataris 14.6 percent. In the fifth place were the Chinese nationals who spent 13.7 million Turkish liras (about $4 million) and the Azeris who spent 11.8 million Turkish liras (about $3.3 million).

The biggest increase in expenditure for shopping was recorded by the Russia, where the amount spent by Russians for shopping was 6.5 million lira, which is an increase of 135 percent compared to the first quarter of last year.