The Middle East Economy

With billions of dinars worth of short-term spending plans and a new vision for economic transformation over the next two decades, Kuwait offers opportunities for investment across a range of sectors. While the country adopted a save and prosper approach during the oil boom years of 2010-14, the prolonged reduction in oil prices experienced...

When Kuwait raised $8bn in its first international bond sale in March 2017, Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Hamad Al Sabah said the country intended to be a prudent borrower, and it can afford to be. Kuwait’s economy may be dominated by oil, but it can tolerate a lower fiscal break-even price for the commodity than any of its...

Although Kuwait’s economy is dominated by hydrocarbons, it is non-oil activity, alongside the rebound in crude prices experienced since January 2016, that is driving growth forecasts. National Bank of Kuwait estimated overall real GDP growth of 3.6% in 2016, and forecast growth of 1.7% in 2017 and 2.7% in 2018, while in the non-oil sector it...

With plans to invest KD34bn ($112.4bn) in strategic projects by 2019, Kuwait wants to raise a third of that capital from the private sector. One of the key vehicles geared up for delivering that aim is the public-private partnership (PPP) model, a relatively new concept in the country, but one that has been growing in popularity across the GCC...