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A programme to boost oil production in Kuwait has stimulated growth in construction and petrochemicals. After hydrocarbons extraction and refining, the petrochemicals industry is the largest in Kuwait, with the bulk of production exported to Asia. Manufacturing, meanwhile, is set for continued growth as the country makes a greater push to diversify its industrial base – efforts that will be boosted by a significant influx of funds allocated to transport upgrades as part of the National Development Plan 2015-20. Local pharmaceutical companies are also poised to benefit from rising demand for health care services in the coming years, driven by high birth rates, an ageing population and sustained immigration. This chapter contains an interview with Ahmad Al Jemaz, CEO, Kuwait Aromatics Company.

Access to the internet, especially via mobile devices, has accelerated rapidly in Kuwait since the government liberalised the telecoms and IT sector in the early 2000s. The nation now has one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the region, at 69% of the population in 2014 after seeing 40% growth on the previous year. As one of the first GCC nations to embrace competition by allowing private sector participation in the provision of telecoms services, Kuwait has lately moved to extend oversight of private operations, approving a bill in April 2014 to create an independent telecoms regulator, a move expected to yield fresh momentum for the industry going forward. Meanwhile, despite new challenges in cybersecurity, there is optimism in the industry surrounding the opportunities for new businesses to help protect against cyberthreats.

The Kuwaiti construction market saw a marked rebound in 2014, with the government moving forward with key developments in a number of sectors. The Public Authority for Housing and Welfare has a mandate to provide housing for 2.6m people by 2030. The country’s oil and gas sector was a major contributor to the country’s resurgence in construction projects, with oil and gas projects representing more than 60% of the $25.1bn awarded in 2014. Rising investment in real estate, meanwhile, is bolstering that sector, with the total value of transactions in 2014 increasing by nearly 40% on 2013 to reach $7.27bn. This chapter contains an interview with Khaled Al Mashaan, Vice-Chairman and CEO, Alargan.

Kuwait’s position as one of the biggest players in the international energy markets is backed by its proven reserves, currently the sixth-largest in the world. While international oil prices will have a significant impact on state revenues moving forward, low production costs and ample fiscal reserves should shield the country from the price downturn. The country increased its oil production by more than 14% between 2007 and 2014, from an estimated 2.57m bpd to 2.93m bpd, according to OPEC. Moving forward, the government has outlined plans to develop critical infrastructure projects and a number of major oil developments for a total five-year investment of more than $116bn, with spending in the oil and gas sector to top $100bn. In the non-oil segment, the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research is investigating the potential for alternative energy sources and has recently launched three projects with a combined capacity of 70 MW. This chapter contains interviews with Hashem Sayed Hashem, CEO, Kuwait Oil Company; and Anas Meerza, Group CEO, National Technology Enterprises Company.

Proximity to major regional markets, which have a combined population of 140m and $1.3trn in output, is a major advantage to Kuwait’s transport and logistics sector. The government has outlined a number of infrastructure projects and upgrades to be implemented as part of Kuwait Development Plan, with enhancements to sea and air links a major priority for the state. The country’s international airport has already seen dramatic growth in recent years, with the number of passengers that travel through it jumping from 4.76m in 2004 to 9.38m in 2013, while a new $1.2bn port facility in Boubyan is expected to serve as Kuwait’s major sea link, with 24 berths and an annual capacity of 1.8m containers.

Kuwait’s insurance sector has posted solid expansion in recent years on the back of growth in a handful of key areas including takaful (Islamic insurance) and other non-life segments, with the industry as a whole bringing in $1.04bn in gross written premiums (GWPs) in 2014. The industry is a crowded one in Kuwait, with the top five insurers controlling around 60% of revenues at the end of 2013. The takaful segment has been active in the country since the early 1990s, and the most recent figures show that Kuwait’s 11 Islamic insurers brought in 18.7% of total GWPs in 2012. Meanwhile, the new health care system includes plans to cover expatriates, which accounted for an estimated 69% of the population as of the end of 2014.