Economy

February 2019 saw the government complete its selloff of a 44% stake in Boursa Kuwait, the country’s stock exchange, which is due to be followed by an initial public offering of a further 50% in late 2019. The sale followed a year of promising performance for the exchange, in addition to the June 2018 announcement that the bourse will soon be...

Global trade faces protectionist headwinds that are dampening the outlook for growth in the coming years. According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), trade volumes grew by 3% in 2018 and are expected to decline slightly to 2.6% in 2019 before climbing to 3% in 2020. This may be the first time since the 2007-08 global financial crisis that...

With both economic diversification plans under way across the region, GCC states are seeking to bolster international trade relations and draw in foreign investment. Regional governments have found a willing partner in China, which is seeking to expand its trade and investment presence on the Eurasian continent, as demonstrated by its Belt and...

Kuwait is a constitutional sovereign state situated in the north-western corner of the Gulf, bordered by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As a founding member of both the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the GCC, Kuwait has forged a number of strategic relationships throughout its history. Despite the rising geopolitical...

Various developments point to healthy economic performance in the near term for Kuwait. Chief among them are the upgrade of the country’s stock exchange, which has been approved for addition to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index; the continuing rollout of a large infrastructure programme; and the transition into higher value-added downstream...