Kuwait plans to issue between 4 billion and 5 billion dinars ($13 billion to $16 billion) in public debt by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2021 if parliament approves a long-debated debt law, a government document seen by Reuters showed.
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows Kuwait City and the National Assembly Building , after the country entered virtual lockdown, as a preventive measure against coronavirus disease in Kuwait City, Kuwait, March 20, 2020. REUTERS/Stephanie McGehee
Legislators have been requesting more visibility from the state about use of the funds and repayment mechanisms given the government’s heavy reliance on oil income. Other Gulf states have tapped international markets over the past few years and the region saw more issuances when oil prices crashed earlier this year as the pandemic hit global demand.
Finance Minister Barak al-Sheatan said in a statement published in state media on Saturday that the ministry submitted to cabinet “available options for securing sufficient liquidity” and that the government had approved an “interim financial reform scheme”. He did not specify the measures approved. Lawmaker Riyadh al-Adsani had tweeted that reforms include introducing value-added tax and excise taxes, a tax on net profits of private businesses, reforming the wage structure in the bloated public sector, slashing some benefits and raising utility prices.
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