Over the course of the past decade the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), the Ministry of Finance and the Capital Markets Authority have focused on strengthening Kuwait’s financial sector. The nation’s banks have been key beneficiaries of this effort. At the end of 2015 Kuwait was home to 23 banks in total, including 11 domestic players and 12...
Since Saudi Arabia began reducing its domestic wheat production in 2008, the issue of food security has been high on the agenda for GCC governments. The Kingdom, which was once self-sufficient in the grain and even exported to the wider region, recognised something that is true across the whole of the Arabian Peninsula: it is quickly running...
With strong foreign reserves, a rapidly improving investment framework and a major state-led development programme under way, Kuwait is well positioned to attract growing levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade in the coming years. While the government has cut back on current spending recently, capital expenditure has continued...
A combination of factors has led to a rise in bond issuances from GCC member states across the first half of 2016. Over the period, bonds and sukuk (Islamic bonds) issued in the GCC hit $39bn, accounting for 15% of the region’s total outstanding bonds ($263bn) as of June 2016, and nearly equalling the value of issues in the whole...
In January 2016 Kuwait announced plans to create a new fund to manage its domestic assets, signalling a key step forward in the push to privatise state-owned assets. While the state has experimented with privatisation in the past, the climate of significantly reduced oil prices, which reached a 12-year low in January 2016, has added a greater...
One of the most important issues currently facing the Middle East is the changing composition of its demography. A massive cohort of young people – known as a youth bulge – is challenging policy makers, with youth policy affecting security, education, the labour market and welfare programmes, among other areas. Given the relative stability and...
Stay updated on how some of the world’s most promising markets are being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and what actions governments and private businesses are taking to mitigate challenges and ensure their long-term growth story continues.
Register now and also receive a complimentary 2-month licence to the OBG Research Terminal.
Register Here×