TAG: Kuwait
With the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ recent decision not to increase oil output, and prices exceeding $80 per barrel for the first time in four years, receipts from oil exports are on the rise. This, along with the Kuwait National Development Plan, which is seeking to diversify the economy, may have contributed to the positive or very positive expectations for business conditions over the next 12 months among the majority of CEOs in our latest OBG Business Barometer: Kuwait CEO Survey. Nevertheless, executives remain wary of regional political volatility, with 66% citing this as the top non-commodity external risk to the economy.
Undoubtedly, higher and more stable oil prices have buoyed the Gulf countries over the past year. As I have written before, this is in some senses good news for the region, where oil plays such an important role in terms of income.
Higher and more stable oil prices have undoubtedly buoyed Gulf countries in 2018. While this is, in some senses, good news for the region, where oil plays such a crucial role in terms of income, it also raises important questions about the need for – and the pace of – reform. In speaking with close to 900 of the region’s executives in face-to-face interviews, the latest OBG Business Barometer: Gulf CEO Survey illuminates how the rollercoaster of the past year has impacted near-term business plans in the private sector, and how executives are factoring uncertainty into their development strategies.