kuwait government is too corrupted , im not welling to pay them tax for what ? to ripe me off , at the end they will steal the tax revenue by building some crapy school or hospital with cheap quality equipment and poor maintenance , if they want tax system to be applied in the kuwait then they should fully adhere with constitution , only then i will be happy to pay my tax

ee 9a7 ,, we should see progress in our country and we should see and know were all the oil revenues are going we cant pay taxes when we still dont have transparency in our economy. for example will all kuwaitis pay taxes ? will the royal family members pay taxes ? will friends of the royal family pay taxes ?
in the UK even the queen pays taxes ,, will the emir pay taxes from his 50 million salary ?? im guessing no :)

LOOOOOOOOOOL CRAZY he will not pay any pinny, guys you have points in every post like Q8_Sean_Paul :jk: e7m e7m sorry shaggy ;) we should make some sacrifices, skoulikimou yeah we should see what we are paying taxes for, and Crazy yeah we should let every one pay theme taxes not letting al-was'6a (vitamin W) going in it, god dame it, it goes in every hole in this country (vitamin W) and I'm not willing to pay any files with knowing that's some one not paying it in steed with having vitamin W because i don't have any .

and guys have a good day ;)

I've said this before: Taxes are good for countries, and can actually stimulate and strengthen an economy if followed in a proper manner.

The parliament is talking about implementing income tax. That would not be advisable in the short term.

I strongly believe in implementing property taxes first. This would immediately stimulate the real estate sector like you have never seen before. Land owners would quickly sell or demolish and build on their lands rather than sitting on them as they are doing now. Look at Kuwait's most important street in the city (Fahed Al-Salem St), and look at all those disgusting buildings that stand there (btw, many are owned by the Ruling Family). With a proper tax system, those building would be replaced by skyscrapers and we'd all be writing about them here in this forum.

A positive outcome of property taxes is that prices would become more reasonable. Today, an average residential property (750 sq m) in an average area (Rawda, Surra, etc) can set you back about KD 300,000. Remember, there is absolutely no view from these lands, no big irtidaads, nothing. Very disturbing.

Anway, that's just my 2 cents on this topic!

^^ you r right vana8 !! land/ property taxes should be in place so the real estate sector could benefit from the land and important properties in the center of the city... like 94% of the land is owned by the government and its soooo high that real state companies just give up !!

i agree with u guys, thats one reason y we should have taxes

Kuwait budget surplus to top twenty billion dollars

KUWAIT CITY (AFP) - OPEC member Kuwait is forecast to post a budget surplus of more than 20 billion dollars in the current fiscal year for the second year in a row, a local economic report said.

Al-Shall Economic Consultants said the oil-rich emirate is expected to post record income of 59 billion dollars in the current fiscal year 2006-2007 which ends on March 31.

Oil income is forecast to contribute 56.1 billion dollars to the total revenues, the report said.

If the Gulf state spends all the projected expenditure of 37.6 billion dollars, a net surplus of 21.4 billion dollars will be posted, Al-Shall said.

More than 7.5 billion dollars of the expenditure is a one-time payment of arrears to the state-run pension agency.

Kuwait, which produces 2.5 million barrels of oil daily, posted a record budget surplus of 23.8 billion dollars in the previous fiscal year of 2005-2006.

Kuwait calculated its oil revenues in the current budget at a conservative price of 36 dollars a barrel, while the average for the first six months of the year has been 63.3 dollars.

In the first five months of the fiscal year, Kuwait earned 24.2 billion dollars of mainly oil income, the finance ministry said.

This would be Kuwait's eighth straight windfall year. In the past seven years, its budget surplus totalled about 54 billion dollars.

Returns on the emirate's foreign assets, estimated in 2005 at more than five billion dollars, do not show in the budget.

Independent reports estimate Kuwait's total financial assets at about 166 billion dollars at the end of March this year, most of which are in foreign holdings.

Kuwait sits on about 10 percent of the world's oil reserves and has a native population of one million people, in addition to two million foreign residents.

yahoo news

Kuwait to start gas production by end-2007
November 20, 2006

OPEC member Kuwait, which discovered large reserves of natural gas earlier this year, plans to start commercial production by the end of 2007, a top oil executive said Monday.

"We expect to start gas production by end of 2007 or January 2008 with a daily output of 180 million cubic feet [5.1 million cubic meters]," Farouk Al Zanki, head of Kuwait Oil Company, told reporters after opening a conference on gas and oil.

He said that a provisional plan for natural gas development will be ready by the end of November or early December.

"According to the plan, our target is to increase production to 600 million cubic feet daily by 2011 and to 1 billion cubic feet by 2014-15," Zanki said.

Kuwait in March announced the discovery for the first time of 35 trillion cubic feet of free natural gas and a large quantity of light oil in its northern oilfields.

Zanki said that the company is currently searching for more gas in five exploration sites in the same region.

The Gulf state, which sits on about 10 percent of global oil reserves, has also been searching for natural gas to operate its power and water desalination plants and a planned large oil refinery.

It has signed several contracts to import gas from Qatar, Iraq, and Iran. Saudi Arabia had blocked the construction of a pipeline from Qatar to Kuwait while the other two contracts have been progressing slowly.

Zanki reiterated Kuwait's commitment to increase its oil production capacity to 4 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2020 by spending some $26 billion for developing the domestic upstream sector.

The emirate plans to raise its output capacity to 3 million bpd by 2010 and to 3.5 million bpd by 2015. It is currently pumping around 2.6 million bpd, which is about its sustainable production capacity.

Click to Check (http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20061120-072045-7783r)

good news skouli

oh yeah :cheer: we wont have to buy our gas from qatar ;p

i think kuwait has a exellent future in Economy
shekh sba7 mehtam akthar lel igte9ad
o atwaga3 igte9adna ra7 yekbar 200% hatha itha moo akthar
lana al7eeeeen nantej malyoonen bermel o ba3ad 5 sanawat ra7 nantej 5 bermel (double)

o hatha '3eer 3an il GAS illy ikteshfawh
+ seya7a
+ markaz maaaly igleeemy o 3allamy

o il 7emdella il kuwait al7eeeen 3nedha thany akbar i7tya6y nef6 Bil 3alam
113 milyar bermel (2006) "kinna il rabe3 bil 3alam" il sena illy 6afat

saudiarabia (1) 260 mrlyar
Kuwait (2 ) 113 milyar bermel
iraq 112 milyar bermel
emarat 98 milyar bermel

i think kuwait has a exellent future in Economy
shekh sba7 mehtam akthar lel igte9ad
o atwaga3 igte9adna ra7 yekbar 200% hatha itha moo akthar
lana al7eeeeen nantej malyoonen bermel o ba3ad 5 sanawat ra7 nantej 5 bermel (double)

o hatha '3eer 3an il GAS illy ikteshfawh
+ seya7a
+ markaz maaaly igleeemy o 3allamy

o il 7emdella il kuwait al7eeeen 3nedha thany akbar i7tya6y nef6 Bil 3alam
113 milyar bermel (2006) "kinna il rabe3 bil 3alam" il sena illy 6afat

saudiarabia (1) 260 mrlyar
Kuwait (2 ) 113 milyar bermel
iraq 112 milyar bermel
emarat 98 milyar bermel

Yeah Drag-race. I see where you're coming from. However....

1. We have jackasses winning in our parliament, who care more about winning the next election, then preserving Kuwait for the next couple of centuries.

2. Kuwait did not invent the oil, they found more oil, so we have a bigger oil reserve. This does not mean we became better.

3. We do not have a tax system, which basically destroys the whole concept of citizens caring about their country. (Maybe the Zakaat law will be a start)

4. The same jackasses (the ones from point 1) want to pay all the loans of all the Kuwaiti citizens. [so we're basically wasting a huge amount of money]

5. Our Emir (Allah i7aftha) raised his salary to more than $ 150 million. (Hatha moo 3alashaan innagi9 min 8adr il Shay5 9ubaa7 Allah i7aftha, but just to prove a point)

6. Members of the government (I don't mean ministers, but some of the people working under them) are CORRUPT (notice how I capitalized the word).

and the list goes on and on.

However, this does not mean that Kuwait has not taken remarkable steps in improving the economy. Kuwait is building many projects, and is implementing some correct measures in many laws relating to finance and economy. Madinat Al Hareer has been approved and construction will probably start next year, and infrastructure is being improved drastically. This may help Kuwait in getting companies and maybe even company headquarters to Kuwait, and if this happens the Kuwaiti economy will improve drastically.

our emir his salary is 50 million annualy not 150 million :S

and zakat law is just dissappointing, you want tax laws, why the hell is it called zakat !!
zakat must be done by individuals and not companies and is not compulsury and zakat law is not even zakat, 1% of profits ! from were did they bring that, anyway just approved it so more money will go to jam3iyat il e9la7 and others so they get more money and put it away in their islamic bank accounts :sleepy:

islamists memeber are soo full of it !

our emir his salary is 50 million annualy not 150 million :S

and zakat law is just dissappointing, you want tax laws, why the hell is it called zakat !!
zakat must be done by individuals and not companies and is not compulsury and zakat law is not even zakat, 1% of profits ! from were did they bring that, anyway just approved it so more money will go to jam3iyat il e9la7 and others so they get more money and put it away in their islamic bank accounts :sleepy:

islamists memeber are soo full of it !

Our Emir's salary is 50 million KD so logically it's 150 million USD :P

Let's, for a second, take away the name "Zakat" form the law. The law requires companies to pay 1% in taxes. Will that be alright?

It's true that zakat is not 1% but rather 2.5%. So if you want to pay the zakat, you pay 1% to the government (tax) and the rest to wherever you want it to go (the rest meaning the other 1.5%) [This by the way is supported ]. So if you look at it, it's basically a taxing system (maybe a poor one, but a tax system nonetheless). I do not know why people have to be so sensitive to giving it an Islamic name.

Talking about charity organizations (no matter whether I support them or not) in this way, is really really bad. Ga3 ti63an ib niyaathum oo actually af3aalhum. Unless you have evidence to back up your words, do not say such things about any organization, but especially charitable ones.

* EDIT * ..... all i'm going to say is that the law sucks, the people who were behind it sucks, the people who approved it sucks

thats it, im not going to talk about this anymore !!

Salam all...Happy to be one of you...Couple of days I was just reading your posts and I admired all of you who seem to care about your country ( other than those who crave for beaurocracy :p) Anyways...

I was wondering if whether you think that Kuwait gov't must establish a new ministry...Ministry of Economics!!
I think its a good idea but plz I would be more than happy to hear your comments :)

excuse me creedonomix, but there is no need 2 have a ministry of ecnomics, cuz we have the ministry of finance which does that job

excuse me creedonomix, but there is no need 2 have a ministry of ecnomics, cuz we have the ministry of finance which does that job


Ok im with you with that however, for example you have Germany who has ministries such as ministry of economics and ministry of finance and ministry of science and technology...what i mean is that if you juggle with one ball (specalize) in something is far easier (better) than juggling three or more balls...do you get what i mean?

your right Creedonomix, ministries should be specalize in one thing, as you said ministry of economics is a good idea, and the cabinet is studing to make the Ministry of Environment, but by doing this we should change the constitution and the number f ministers will increase and giving the government a larger vote in the parliament, thats why its so hard !! nobody is willing to change the constitution

well, u have a point there creedonomix and crazy, i guess i was mistakin, having a ministry of economics is a good idea

your right Creedonomix, ministries should be specalize in one thing, as you said ministry of economics is a good idea, and the cabinet is studing to make the Ministry of Environment, but by doing this we should change the constitution and the number f ministers will increase and giving the government a larger vote in the parliament, thats why its so hard !! nobody is willing to change the constitution

well, u have a point there creedonomix and crazy, i guess i was mistakin, having a ministry of economics is a good idea

Thank you q8_shaggy and crazy...in a matter of fact i was speaking with my fellow friend earlier today and we have talked about the constitution thing and he told me some interesting things such as in the constitution itself, the Amir Sheikh Abdulla Al Salem (Allah Yer7ma) has said that one of the amendments must be that the Kuwaiti society must only add not delete or cancel if and only if kuwait is in need of change.

Btw our constitution is old and are in need of desparete change however, some ( not naming people ) like the MP's and very conservative people ( :P ) are the one's who would seriously make a big problem with that...Don't you think so???

100% with you ;) some people need to open their eyes and see the changes needed for this country

LOOOOOL...:)..n1

Anyways read this...

Kuwaitis struggle with economic reform

KUWAIT CITY (AFX) - Kuwaiti lawmakers have often directed their tiny emirate's booming oil revenues to pay off the private debts of the country's 1 million citizens.

Legislators have even demanded power bill payments and cash gifts for citizens, and the Cabinet has sometimes obliged.

Now the country's ruling emir and his ministers are pushing back, insisting that recent oil windfalls believed to be in the billions be invested instead. That has led to a political standoff that threatens to complicate government plans to impose economic reforms.

The dispute shows the intensity of disagreement over the reforms in this strong U.S. ally, which most outside economists say must wean itself from sole dependence on oil revenues at some point.

Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah and his Cabinet have been trying to pass changes such as privatizing state-run firms in the hopes of turning Kuwait into a trade and financial center like its booming neighbors in the Persian Gulf. Government officials have said that, to do that, the country needs to stop some lucrative handouts to citizens and instead motivate them to work in private industry.

But many citizens are fighting back, and finding an ally in the parliament, where lawmakers hope Monday to deliberate a proposal for consumer debt forgiveness in a special session of Kuwait's house.

Finance Minister Bader al-Humaidhi instead has proposed putting part of the surplus wealth into a state-run firm for it to invest abroad. He says Kuwait would distribute some of the profits to its citizens each year. In a sign of support for his proposal, the Cabinet is widely expected to boycott Monday's session.
Advertisement

'This is a golden chance we have to take to build assets,' al-Humaidhi told state-run Kuwait TV. 'The most important thing is to think of dry years ahead,' when oil runs out or simply stops being the hot commodity it is today.

Even if parliament were to pass a debt write-off bill, it would not become law unless it was signed by the emir, who told editors-in-chief of local dailies this month that forgiveness of private debts was not 'fair.'

Kuwait sold its oil at a record high of $68 a barrel in August, but the price has since fallen to around $50. The National Bank of Kuwait estimated in a recent report that the rise in oil prices meant Kuwait could have a $23 billion budget surplus in the 2005-2006 fiscal year.

Reform advocates contend the government has created a lazy and spoiled generation in this affluent nation. Most Kuwaitis work for the government and are highly dependent on subsidized prices and face no income taxes.

An estimated 10,000 Kuwaitis are waiting for government jobs, a time-honored way to hand out oil wealth. Efforts to lure them to work in the more-demanding private sector have all but failed.

Foreign workers, who are not citizens, dominate the private-sector economy. They, too, benefit from subsidized public service and do not pay income taxes.

'The government has created a lazy generation that takes without giving back, and forgiving debts will just consecrate this. It is wrong,' said Nasser al-Nafisi, the general manager of Al-Joman Center for economic consulting.

Not so, insists Intisar al-Hindal, a 31-year-old physician who borrowed $104,000 to buy a house after she and her husband tired of years of waiting for government housing.

'Eighty percent of my salary goes to pay my loan,' said Intisar, who attended the rally and would provide no other details on her loan situation. 'Is it fair that the government gives the money to other countries and forgets me?'

Write-off proponents point out that Kuwait already has a cushion of some $163 billion of reserves, mostly in a fund meant to provide for Kuwaitis when oil runs out, which it has been building since the 1970s by investing 10 percent of its annual revenues overseas.

The money carried Kuwait through 7-month Iraqi occupation and the 1991 U.S.-led Gulf War that followed it.

Two groups of lawmakers have proposed the government create a separate fund for 'present generations' with 25 percent of the annual earnings of reserves, which would be equally distributed to citizens.

They complain that Kuwait often offers generous aid to nations hit by war or natural disasters, while its Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development has given out billions in grants and loans for projects in developing nations.

At one recent open-air rally, speakers slammed the Cabinet for refusing to pay off private debts while 'squandering' money on such grants and loans. The audience applauded and roared in approval.

'A government of thieves who want to suck the blood of the people,' said Faisal al-Tuwaih, an aspiring politician, addressing the crowd of some 500 men, plus scores of women separated by a canvas wall.

https://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=37754910069284

Hi...maybe it is the wrong forum but at least it talks about the right topic :)

Read plz

Kuwait''s Central Bank approves switch of KREB to Islamic dealings
ECO-KUWAIT-CBK-KREB
Kuwait's Central Bank approves switch of KREB to Islamic dealings

KUWAIT, Dec 3 (KUNA) -- Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah said Sunday that during the Board of Directors' meeting the application of the Kuwait Real Estate Bank (KREB) to switch totally to the Islamic system of dealings has been approved.

He told KUNA that the prior approval in principle on the same KREB application in March 2004 was valid for one year and extended until July 31, 2005 to complete the organizational and operational measures required to switch to the Islamic system in the proper way, based on the rationale that this is the first banking experience of its kind.

In September 2005, he went on, the CBK delayed issue of an approval for switching to the Islamic system, until KREB finalizes naming senior staff members including the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

After completion of these procedures and according to today's approval, KREB has to take the switching measures in accordance with the Commercial Companies law provisions, including issue of an Amiri decree to change KREB's title to "Kuwait International Bank" and amend its objectives according to Article 135 of the Commercial Companies Law.

Turning to other items, Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah said discussions during today's Board meeting touched on outcomes of applying the policy of licensing new Islamic banks in Kuwait after issue of the special Islamic Banks Law No. 30 of 2003.

After deliberations, he added, the Board decided to activate the second phase of the Islamic banks licensing process. This phase includes the establishment during 2007, of an Islamic Bank by a government party as a major shareholder with equity rate conforming to the stipulation of Article 92 of Law 32 of 1968 on Money and the Central Bank of Kuwait. This is besides approval to establish branches of national Islamic banks at the GCC member states.

Reminding he said that the CBK Board approved during its meeting in June 2003 the policy of licensing new Islamic banks in the State of Kuwait. It agreed in particular establishing two Islamic banks in addition to the Kuwait Finance House during the first phase with need to assess the position afterwards.

Also he added, the CBK board approved in principle licensing the branch of the National Bank of Qatar in Kuwait. But this licensing should be approved by the Kuwaiti Council of Ministers.

This is the second approval for opening a branch of a GCC national bank after the establishment of Abu Dhabi National Bank branch in October 2005.

Three foreign bank branches were licensed namely BNB Paribas, HSBC-Middle East and City Bank. (end) ts.aa.
mm



KUNA 032143 Dec 06NNNN

Thank you q8_shaggy and crazy...in a matter of fact i was speaking with my fellow friend earlier today and we have talked about the constitution thing and he told me some interesting things such as in the constitution itself, the Amir Sheikh Abdulla Al Salem (Allah Yer7ma) has said that one of the amendments must be that the Kuwaiti society must only add not delete or cancel if and only if kuwait is in need of change.

Btw our constitution is old and are in need of desparete change however, some ( not naming people ) like the MP's and very conservative people ( :P ) are the one's who would seriously make a big problem with that...Don't you think so???

Creedonomix:

Let's think about it logically. What if we had more than a third of our parliament as ministers- what would happen next?

CHAOS!

It will not be a democratic country anymore. It will be a country ruled individually by the Emir (Allah i7aftha) and the prime minister. What would happen you may ask? Despotism and something like a dictatorship, that's what.

It maybe more efficient (even if I don't think so), but our parliament will always vote towards the governement's side. Our parliament would basically be a puppet institution. If you say that the government should not be part of parliament, then we'll have crazy people like boo ramya stating that all loans should be abolished, playing on stupid people's feelings. I think the way we're doing it right now is the better way. Instead of having minsitries, we must have independent or government affiliated institutions that will play the role of a ministry without actually partaking in parliament.

Creedonomix:

Let's think about it logically. What if we had more than a third of our parliament as ministers- what would happen next?

CHAOS!

It will not be a democratic country anymore. It will be a country ruled individually by the Emir (Allah i7aftha) and the prime minister. What would happen you may ask? Despotism and something like a dictatorship, that's what.

It maybe more efficient (even if I don't think so), but our parliament will always vote towards the governement's side. Our parliament would basically be a puppet institution. If you say that the government should not be part of parliament, then we'll have crazy people like boo ramya stating that all loans should be abolished, playing on stupid people's feelings. I think the way we're doing it right now is the better way. Instead of having minsitries, we must have independent or government affiliated institutions that will play the role of a ministry without actually partaking in parliament.

Thank you for the reply... plz dont forget that by adding (based on what you said ) few ministers on our parliment we must also add more mp's so that it becomes equal again...And about people like boo ramya...well this is a democratic country and he has the right to do what he thinks its right even though i say he's full of bull, so in the end its up to us as kuwaiti's to decide...btw when you said " right now is the better way"... one word my friend...BEAUROCRACY...do you think that now is better?:)

Thank you for the reply... plz dont forget that by adding (based on what you said ) few ministers on our parliment we must also add more mp's so that it becomes equal again...And about people like boo ramya...well this is a democratic country and he has the right to do what he thinks its right even though i say he's full of bull, so in the end its up to us as kuwaiti's to decide...btw when you said " right now is the better way"... one word my friend...BEAUROCRACY...do you think that now is better?:)

Okay that makes sense. If you add more MPs then you could add more ministers. Now for me it becomes a debatable issue. :)

Salaries in Middle East property sector rise 15pc over last year
BY A STAFF REPORTER- Khleej Times

7 December 2006


DUBAI — Salaries in the property sector across the Middle East increased at an average rate of 15 per cent over the last year, according to figures released by Macdonald & Company.

The figures were taken from Macdonald & Company's first-ever Middle East Salary Guide, which was launched at Cityscape 2006.

The Salary Guide attributes the rise to the unprecedented number of development projects in the region, which in turn has led to a greater demand for development managers, project managers and property professionals in the realty sector. The guide has been divided into two sections, Development/Real Estate roles and Technical roles, and has analysed 13 positions from entry-level to senior positions. Data for the guide has been derived from three primary sources - 'New Pay', the pay being achieved by relevant candidates placed by Macdonald & Company, 'Current Pay', the pay being achieved by relevant candidates registering with the company and data gained by research within a limited number of organisations.

"The Salary Guide aims to give those involved in the property industry in the Middle East an overview of current packages. Based on our research, average salaries in the sector across the Middle East rose 10 - 15 per cent over the last 12 months. Further, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have reported 10 per cent higher average salary than other GCC countries," said William Buck, International Director, Macdonald & Company. "In addition to shortages of key skills, the recent easing of restrictions on changing jobs within the UAE has increased movement among professionals."

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/business/2006/December/business_December213.xml&section=business&col=

Gulf Economies At Their Best Ever -- The Economist

KUWAIT, Dec 11 (KUNA) -- Gulf economies are at their best ever and recent performance brings the region to slot 17 among world economic powers as a result of continued growth in domestic product, an economic figure told a seminar Monday.

Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain based Al-Ahlia Securities Company Usama Mueen told a conference on the sidelines of "Ahlia World of Investment" exhibition gulf local product came to USD 600 billion in 2006 and is expected to climb further to USD 1,000 billion in 2010 at growth of about 75 percent.

Mueen said factors that contribute to such leap include increase in oil prices, particularly since the region is a main oil producer exporting 46.8 percent of the overall world market supply.

The CEO pointed out average OPEC basket price came to USD 50.6 pb for 2005 compared to USD 36 pb for 2004, an increase of 40.5 percent. This was due to increase in world demand for oil, particularly demand by China, India, and the US, he said. Average 2006 price so far came to USD 52.6 pb, he added.

The region sought to utilize this boom, the CEO said, and is going ahead with economic reform programs, allowing more private sector investment, both local and international private sector, and is also investing more aggressively in oil and gas, power and water, and infrastructure sectors in general.

Mueen further noted that one positive aspect of the current boom, which began in 2002, is the considerable growth in gulf monetary markets despite current decline in performance. Listed companies went up from 302 companies five years ago to a current 526 with considerable growth in assets as well, both local and offshore.

In review of the Kuwaiti economy's growth indicators, the CEO said growth last year was 19.1 percent, mainly supported by the significant increase in oil prices.

It is expected, Mueen said, that this year would see further growth of 9.1 percent which would push domestic product up to USD 75 billion at 12.5 percent of the gulf's domestic product.

The seminar the CEO was addressing is part of the activities coinciding with Al-Ahlia's three-day exhibition which wraps up Monday after showcasing the company's projects and activities in Kuwait and the region.(end) amf.

wsa
KUNA 111055 Dec 06NNNN

Kuwait revenues jump 17%


KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwait's revenues in the first eight months of the current fiscal year topped $37 billion, a 17-percent increase over the same period last year, on the back of high oil prices, a report said Saturday.

Al Shall Economic Consultants said that total revenues at the end of November, the eighth month of the 2006/2007 fiscal year, reached $37.2 billion against $31.8 billion posted in the same period the previous year.

The figure is up 26.1 percent on the $29.5 billion projected for the whole fiscal year that began in April, said the report, quoting finance ministry figures.

Oil revenues accounted for $35.4 billion, up 17.6 percent on $30.1 billion posted in the same period last fiscal year and 32.1 percent higher than the $26.8 billion forecast for the entire year.

The increase came despite a sharp drop in oil revenues, which make up 95 percent of total income, in October and November when oil prices moderated after hitting an all-time high in August.

The average price of Kuwaiti oil dipped to around $54 a barrel in November, down from its historical levels of above $66 a barrel in August.

Middle East Times

«المالية» جاهزة لإقرار بنك جابر و«الشركات» الثلاث وزيادة الـ 50 دينارا وإحالتها إلى مجلس الأمة.. وخبيرها الاقتصادي يؤكد: الحكومة تبالغ %30 في كلفة زيادة الرواتب
القوانين الشعبية بالكود بعد العيد.. واستجواب الحميضي ليس أولوية
كتب محمد السلمان ومحمد الخالدي وأسامة القطري:
يتجه مجلس الامة بعد اجازة العيد الى اقرار سلة من القوانين والتشريعات تصب جميعها في مصلحة المواطنين ودعم اقتصاديات الاسرة الكويتية ومن هذه المشاريع زيادة الـ 50 دينارا على الرواتب وبنك جابر الاسلامي وصندوق جابر للجيل الحاضر والمشاريع الحكومية الثلاثة التي تصب اسهم الاكتتاب فيها لمصلحة المواطنين.
وأعلن رئيس اللجنة المالية والاقتصادية النائب أحمد باقر ان «اللجنة وفور انتهائها من درس قانون حماية أملاك الدولة والـ (BOT) ستفتح بعد اجازة العيد ملفات المشاريع الحكومية الثلاثة وزيادة الرواتب ومقترحات النواب التي تصب في مصلحة المواطنين ومنها بنك جابر الاسلامي وصندوق جابر للجيل الحاضر».
مبينا انها «ستعقد اجتماعات مكثفة بحضور الحكومة لانجاز التقارير واحالتها لمجلس الأمة».
وأضاف باقر لـ «الوطن» ان «الحكومة سبق لها ان ابلغت اللجنة المالية تحفظها على زيادة الرواتب بسبب ان هناك زيادة سبق ان صرفت لاصحاب الكوادر اضافة الى صرف زيادة عامة استثنيت منها الكوادر»، مشيرا الى ان «اللجنة استعرضت القانون الذي ينص على وجوب مراجعة المرتبات ومسؤولية الحكومة تجاهه وتسلمت بيانات من الحكومة حول تكلفة الزيادة المقترحة، لافتا الى ان اللجنة ستعاود استعراض الموقف الحكومي وستتخذ القرار المناسب وفق قناعة اعضائها».
وأوضح الخبير الاقتصادي في اللجنة المالية لـ «الوطن» ان كلفة زيادة العلاوة الاجتماعية بواقع 50 دينارا على الميزانية العامة بعد إضافة المساهمات الاضافية في اشتراكات وصناديق التأمينات حوالي 379 مليون دينار وهي تعادل %4.5 من اجمالي الانفاق العام، وتزداد كل سنة حوالي %5 يصل في السنة العاشرة الى حوالي 516 مليون دينار وفي السنة العشرين الى حوالي 758 مليون دينار بمجموع يبلغ حوالي 11 مليار دينار».
وذكر الخبير الذي طلب عدم نشر اسمه ان «هذه الارقام تحتاج الى دراسة لبيان مدى دقتها بعد ان قدمتها الحكومة للجنة المالية بطريقة الحسبة الاكتوارية»، مشيرا الى ان «المتوقع هو ان تكون هذه الارقام مبالغ فيها بنسبة بين 20 و30 في المئة عن الحقيقة ما لم تثبت الحكومة بالمستندات حقيقتها».
وذكر الخبيران «قرار زيادة الرواتب هو قرار سيادي يتعلق بمدى موافقة الحكومة وكيفية معالجة هيكلة الباب الاول لمنع تضخمه»، مشيرا الى ان «الارقام الاكتوارية هي آخر شيء يمكن ان تبرر فيه الحكومة الموافقة من عدمها على زيادة الرواتب».
من ناحية اخرى فيما ينسق نواب لاستجواب وزير التربية وزير التعليم العالي د.عادل الطبطبائي يسعى اعضاء في كتلة العمل الوطني الى عقد اجتماع مع الوزير «لإبلاغه بملاحظاتهم ولمتابعة خطة الوزارة في المناهج ودعم المعلمين ومؤسسات التعليم في القطاعين العام والخاص، والوضع الإداري في تعيين القياديين بالوزارة ضمن خطة الكتلة للاجتماع مع بعض الوزراء وحثهم على العمل وفق مبادئ الدستور والقانون وكأساس لواجب العمل البرلماني».
يأتي هذا فيما أشاد النائب د.جمعان الحربش بتفهم وزير التربية وزير التعليم العالي د.عادل الطبطبائي وعميد كلية الطب د.عبدالله بهبهاني للمشاكل المتكررة وبعض الممارسات والظواهر غير التربوية التي أخذت تتزايد في كافتيريا كلية الطب خلال الفترة الاخيرة.
واعرب الحربش عن الارتياح لتعهد الوزير وعميد الكلية بالتزام تطبيق قانون منع الاختلاط والقضاء على بعض السلبيات والتراخي في فرض القانون في بعض مرافق الجامعة.
واكد الحربش انه سيتابع تنفيذ القانون وانه يحمل الوزير وعميد الكلية كافة المسؤوليات في ذلك.
وعلى صعيد اخر كشفت مصادر مطلعة ان «عضو كتلة التكتل الشعبي النائب احمد السعدون بدأ في جمع البيانات والتصريحات التي صدرت عن نائب رئيس مجلس الوزراء وزير الدولة لشؤون مجلس الوزراء الدكتور اسماعيل الشطي لاعداد صحيفة استجواب في حق الوزير».
وافادت المصادر بأن «السعدون يريد التصدي لاستجواب الشطي هذه المرة بنفسه من دون مشاركة احد، لكن مثل هذه الخطوة لن تعلن الا بعد اكتمال فصول مادة الاستجواب ومحاوره والتي ستعتمد اساسا على املاك الدولة وعقود الـ B.O.T ومخالفات ابان تولي الوزير حقيبة وزارة المواصلات».
وذكرت المصادر ان «السعدون يرى ان استجواب الشطي يحتل اولوية على بقية الاستجوابات اذا كان اي من النواب يرغب في استخدام هذا الحق الدستوري، لان التجاوزات التي يتحملها الوزير الشطي خطيرة ولا يمكن تأجيل متابعتها سياسيا ودستوريا»، مرجحة ان تنكشف الصورة بعد اجازة العيد.
وافادت بأن الكتلة ترى ان استجواب وزير المالية بدر الحميضي في الوقت الحالي ليس اولوية بقدر ما هو الافضل حاليا استجواب الشطي.
وفي عودة لموضوع زيادة الرواتب اعلن النائب جابر المحيلبي انه بدأ في جمع تواقيع النواب لتقديم طلب في جلسة مجلس الامة المقبلة لاستعجال اللجنة المالية البرلمانية اعداد تقريرها حول مقترح زيادة الرواتب في العلاوة الاجتماعية بمقدار 50 دينارا خلال مهمة لا تزيد على اسبوعين وتقديمه لمجلس الامة في الجلسة التالية لاقراره.
واكد ان «عددا كبيرا من النواب وقعوا على الطلب لعرضه في الجلسة العادية وليس جلسة خاصة خوفا من عدم حضور الحكومة».
من جهة اخرى يهدد فقدان النصاب عقد اجتماع مجلس الوزراء غدا، واذا عقد الاجتماع فلن يتخذ أي قرار باستثناء الاطلاع على بعض التقارير واحالتها على اللجان المختصة.

تاريخ النشر: السبت 23/12/2006

shekh sba7 mehtam akthar lel igte9ad


LOL! That was funny! Perhaps you meant his own (personal) economy...LoL :ohno:

LOL! That was funny! Perhaps you meant his own (personal) economy...LoL :ohno:

Kuwait will be much much better in the next few years when fahaeel city projects + kuwait city + Economic capital (sity of silk) + Kheeran City

and shikh sbah wants kuwait markaz mally ..etc sba7 il a7mad ra7 ya3jbik bes lazem ta9ber shway ma y9eeer ib yoom o liala y'3ayar kil shay :)

اقره موضوعي في مدينة الحرير
ولا امارة او مدينة بلشرق الاوسط راح اتطقها مع مدينة الحرير هذا على كلام المسؤل مو انا

مدينة الحرير راح اتدخل سنويا على الاقل 4 مليارات دينار سنويا للكويت

thnx 4 those gr8 encouraging words drag-race, ur right, Keweight elshekh sebah he just started ruling q8 it hasn't even been a year, and plz he never tries 2 make his own economy, he's gonna be writen in history, so he has to do well and serve the country well, cuz god is gonna judge him and all of us on how well we served it, i think that shekh sebah very good, and he's gonna be even better than al maktoom, wait and c.

Kuwait considering euro for oil trade


Kuwait is considering switching to the euro in its oil trade with other countries, KUNA said.

Managing Director for international marketing at the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said Kuwait was considering to replace US dollar with euro in oil trade.
Al-Nouri said that other countries have also considered the switch for US dollar's steady decline in value.

that's gr8 news, thnx crazy

Kuwait implementing plans to diversify sources, Minister


Wednesday, January 17, 2007

BANGALORE, -- (KUNA) -- Kuwait has been implementing a number of ambitious programs to diversify its sources of income and cut its dependency on oil revenues, Kuwaiti Commerce Minister said Wednesday.

Speaking at the three-day Indian Partnership Summit, which began today in Bangalore, Kuwaiti Minister of Commerce and Industry Falah Al-Hajri said, Kuwait has moved towards manufacturing petrochemicals, food stuff, and construction materials.

The private sector has been encouraged to invest in industry which has increased the industry sector's contribution to Kuwait's gross domestic product (GDP), he added.

Several factors are expected to positively influence the Kuwaiti industry sector growth such as joining the World Trade Organization, legislation guaranteeing intellectual property rights, and implementing quality standards in production, Al-Hajri said.

Industrial development programs in Kuwait aim to increase national jobs in the sector, raise production levels, and encourage taking advantage of natural resources available such as aluminum, steel, petrochemical, and cement production, the minister added.

The Kuwaiti private sector is expected to flourish in the next few years and be the main player in Kuwaiti development, he said.

The Kuwaiti government is turning Kuwait to a regional financial and service center through facilitating procedures, modernizing laws, and creating an environment that is encouraging to investors, Al-Hajri added.

Kuwait economy roars ahead for fourth year

Kuwait city: Kuwait saw its fourth year of economic boom in 2006 against continued strength in the underlying fundamentals that included record oil prices and export volumes, accelerating public and private investment spending, and ample liquidity, said an economic report yesterday.

The report, published by the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), predicted the budget surplus in the fiscal year 2006-2007 would fall between KD4.64 billion and KD5.04bn (16.0-17.4bn).

It said that while the economy's performance cooled off from the roaring levels attained in 2005, growth should remain fairly strong in both real and nominal terms.

The outlook over the medium-term, it said, remained bullish even if oil prices pulled back from their recent highs.

The NBK report added that near-record fiscal and external surpluses have allowed the government to continue accumulating foreign assets.

In turn, these surpluses boosted the country's investment income from abroad, which had grown at a faster pace than GDP, supported by rising global interest rates.

It said growth momentum was likely to be sustained by an investment boom that reflected a rising confidence in the economy's future prospects.

The boom could see more than KD60bn spent in various sectors of the economy over the next five years, it said.

The report said investor confidence was also being manifested by the expansion of activities of local companies that had seen sharp increases in profitability and liquidity in recent years.

According to NBK, a roaring economy also meant rising demand for labour, with the country's labour force increasing by 8.5 per cent over the 12-month period ending June 2006 following an increase of 11.5pc in the previous 12 months.

Growth was faster among expatriate workers, though employment of nationals saw unprecedented increases in the last two years of more than 8pc per annum, it noted.

Moreover, a parallel increase in public and private sector wages boosted purchasing power of consumers and produced accelerated growth in spending. This growth was further supported by a continued expansion in consumer credit.

NBK reported the price of Kuwait export crude soared 23pc in 2006 over the previous year's average, following a 44pc increase in 2005.

With production near maximum capacity, oil output increased by an estimated 1.8pc during 2006, much less than the 12pc reported in 2005.

Budget revenues from crude oil in the first eight months of fiscal year 2006-2007 were 18pc higher than the same period last year, and were likely to produce the second highest budget surplus after last year's KD6.87bn.

A still larger increase in spending is expected in fiscal year 2006-07, it said.

Most to benefit from higher government spending has been the capital budget, the report added, which it said had grown at an annual average rate of 18pc over the last three fiscal years.

During the current fiscal year 2006-2007, capital spending was projected to increase by 29pc, with most of the spending going towards roads construction and maintenance, electricity and water projects, and other public works.

Kuwait May Abandon Dinar Peg to Dollar to Protect its Economy

By John Fraher and Will McSheehy

Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Kuwait, the third-largest Arab oil producer, may abandon the dinar's peg against the dollar in favor of a basket of currencies to help minimize losses from a weakening U.S. currency.

``We might go to a basket for an interim period,'' Bader al-Humaidhi, Kuwait's finance minister, told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland today. ``The dollar fell a lot against the euro last year, but if we'd been linked to a basket we wouldn't have suffered'' as much.

Al-Humaidhi declined to comment on which currencies might be in the basket. A switch from the dollar is being studied by Kuwait's central bank, he said.

In 2003 Kuwait became the last of a group of six Gulf Arab monarchies including Saudi Arabia and Qatar to peg its currency to the dollar in readiness for a single currency planned for 2010.

A study of the Gulf Cooperation Council states' current account balances, inflation and costs of goods and services shows most of their currencies are undervalued against the dollar, Deutsche Bank AG said in a Jan. 11 report.

The Kuwaiti dinar is trading at the top of a 3.5 percent range around a reference rate set when the dollar peg was established in January 2003. Sheikh Salem Abdul Aziz al-Sabah, Kuwait's central bank governor, last month said he may decide to widen the band or change the peg if the U.S. currency continues to weaken and threatens domestic growth.

^^ thats GOOD !!

finally! ditch the dollar guys! we lost so much of our currency's value due to the dollars depreciate. the dollar is meant to decline due to the USA's deficit financing and also due to some potential minor changes of trade towards the EURO. so it would be really dumb to just sit and watch our currencys buying power erode away

also, i defi. think pegging the new GCC currency to the US dollar would be the dumbest thing if it is done. wat do u guys think

i say peg it to the Japanese Yen ;p :lol:

^^ lol i guess to a basket. including the yen euro and the dollar. but not completely to the dollar. why cant we have a free floating currency lol :nuts:

Kuwait to start gas production from Umm Niga and Sabriya fields


By Iaonnis Solomou, Nicosia, Jan 28 : The Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has announced that by the end of the year it would start gas production from the Umm Niga and Sabriya fields, which was discovered last year.

The gas in place in the two fields is believed to amount to 35 tcf.

As Kuwait has created a number of petrochemical plants as well as power and desalination projects, it already consumes 1.2 billion cfd of associated gas. Planners expect demand for gas to reach 2 billion cfd by 2010. So, it is a matter of priority to find gas to feed its industries.

The discovery of non-associated gas in the north of the country was great news for the government of the emirate. So, the KOC was assigned the task of developing the necessary plans start gas production as soon as possible.

The Kuwaiti company will carry out the development itself, but it is expected to seek assistance from international oil companies.

According to the KOC's plans, production from these two gas-fields initially will be 175 million cfd, which by the end of 2011 will be increased to 600 million cfd and by 2015 to 1 billion cfd.
_________________________

yeah baby we have GAS ;P

By Meshary Alruwaih
Staff Writer
Kuwait is surrounded by solid high walls. Not physical ones like that of China, but regulatory ones that surround some developing countries who still do not accept the rationale of globalisation and open markets. Still, when you talk to any government official they will declare and announce that Kuwait is one of the most open societies and that the Kuwaiti economy is one of the most open economies in the region. These statements are all lies.
In this article, I'll try to put to the attention of those who care about some of the Kuwaiti laws and regulations that make Kuwait one of the harshest environments for doing business:
* Companies Law: this is an old law but still applies to a wide range of sectors in Kuwait. It restricts foreign equity in any commercial presence in Kuwait to 49 per cent leaving 51 per cent to Kuwaitis. An even worse case is where foreign investors are operating through Kuwaiti agents.
* Government Procurement System: This system in Kuwait depends on a number of restrictive laws and regulations that all aim to prevent foreign tenders from participating in any government procurement operations, again only through Kuwaiti agents.
* Investment in Kuwait Stock Exchange: Foreigners are not allowed to buy or sell share, only through mutual funds.
* Ownership of Real Estate: Foreigners are not allowed to own or even lease real estate or land in Kuwait, not even for the purpose of economic activities.
* Kuwaitisation requirements: All private companies operating in Kuwait are required to ensure that their body of employees contains a percentage of Kuwaitis, this percentage can go up to 50 percent in some sectors like financial sectors.
* The new Investment Law of 2001: At first it looks generous, it allows foreign investors to establish and own Kuwaiti companies. But be cautious, it covers only a number of sectors, and the classification of those sectors are so messy that sometimes it's not easy to tell whether the activity is covered under this law or the companies' law which restricts foreign equity to 49 per cent. Furthermore it has a built-in feature of delay and uncertainty, which they call a screening process, a process that has no time limit or clear criteria.
* Business Visitors Limits: While in most countries, business visitors are allowed to stay at least six months in any given year. In Kuwait it's only three months.



And they say that our economy is an open economy, they tell you that Kuwait is turning into a Trade and Financial regional centre. Again all lies.
But who benefits from these high walls? Who benefits from de-linking our economy and our society from the world and the global markets?
The Kuwaiti private sector? Well Kuwaiti companies have been competing for years on foreign lands, I'm sure they can handle the competition at home. Kuwaiti citizens? I always thought that a foreign commercial presence, coupled with new and exciting job opportunities, would help in absorbing the 16,000 Kuwaitis who come to the job market every year. The Kuwaiti economy? No way, foreign investors will increase the efficiency of a number of sectors where they will operate, and in turn increasing the contribution of these sectors in our GDP, the composition of which is the clearest indicator of how successful we are in diversifying our economy away from oil.
So what is this tendency to closeness and disintegration from the global markets?
Some argue that it's fear of change, change to cultural and social realities of our society. They argue that economic openness does not only allow an inflow of capital and investors, but also an inflow of ideas and new and strange ways and styles of life that can have direct effects on our cultural identity and social norms. This does not have to be case, those who advocate this line of thought always look at Dubai as the ultimate victim of openness, but they should not, Dubai is only one outcome of interaction between forces of globalisation and one open society.
Our experiment can be totally different. Alcohol, Shakira's concerts, and Russian prostitutes in Fahad Al-Salem Street do not have to accompany increasing links to the global economy or rationalising our economic environment. I've never seen any economic agreement that ignores reference to the cultural uniqueness of a society, those effects are controllable, there is no thing to fear.
Email me at meshary@kuwaittimes.net

HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/

GSH (Global Securities House), a Kuwait-based real estate advisory firm, announced today the joint venture acquisition of Spring Creek Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, a 404 bed skilled nursing facility located in Harrisburg, PA. The property was acquired through a recently formed joint venture with Continuum Care Holdings of Westport, CT.

The Property is located in the growth corridor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, part of Dauphin County and the Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle MSA. The Property is less than one mile from Interstate 83, the main thoroughfare through western Pennsylvania, and a 10-minute drive to downtown Harrisburg and the Harrisburg International Airport. The neighborhood surrounding the Property has been growing rapidly, and is a popular choice for corporations locating within Harrisburg. There are several major hotel and restaurant chains in the immediate area, and the Property is adjacent to the recently renovated 840,000-square foot Harrisburg East Mall. Currently, there are 53,000 residents in Dauphin County over the age of 65; this number is projected to grow to 70,000 by 2010.

"We are very excited about the relationship with Continuum Care and with the successful joint venture acquisition of our first property. We were attracted to this asset based on the high quality of the facility, the obvious commitment to patient care among facility staff and the unique opportunity to acquire the facility at a significant discount to replacement cost. We believe that these factors, combined with the management expertise of Continuum Care, will prove a winning combination for the facility's residents and care providers, as well as our investors," said Fahed Boodai, Managing Director of GSH. "We hope to expand our presence in health care related real estate during 2007."

"We have not seen an institutional investor show more creativity, flexibility and perseverance than that shown by GSH and its advisor, Arch Street Capital, during this acquisition process," said Chas Blalack, CEO of Continuum Care. "We look forward to rewarding their spirit of partnership with outstanding operating performance at Spring Creek."

GSH and Arch Street Capital Advisors, L.L.C., a Greenwich, CT-based real estate advisory firm structured and arranged the transaction.
_____________________________________


About Global Securities House

GSH is the real estate advisory subsidiary of The Securities House, a financial institution publicly traded on the Kuwait stock exchange, which controls, directly and indirectly through sponsored funds, approximately $1.8 billion in assets including institutional quality real estate holdings in the U.S. GSH monitors and advises on all international investments held by its parent company and its clients.


Yahoo! (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070129/nym143.html?.v=69)

i do agree in some of the points the writer mentioned, but beleive me guys q8 is not that bad, his hinese the amir shekh sabah al ahmad just got the emara, just wait 4 the next 5 years, cuz amazing things r gonna happen, and the country is gonna have a big boost.

some of the points that guy mentioned r true, but he's just 2 desperate

in terms of it's rules and financial laws, kuwait is in the medieval ages. and if this doesnt change soon. oil still makes up for roughly 50% of the GDP and 90% of export revenue. foreign direct investment in kuwait is still a tiny fraction of that to emirates, qatar and bahrain. god forbid, we will become one of the poorest nations in the world once there is a suitable substitute for oil(which wont take longer than 50 years) or once the oil finishes (which will prob. happen after 100 years)

i really hope sheikh sabah just dissolves the parliament and makes all the necessary changes and turns around the entire economy

the oil in kuwait will not fiinish after 100 years it will finish a lot more than 100 years
+
kuwait has now more than 112 BILLION barmell =(3rd largest in the world)
after saudi & iran
+ i read in the news papers before a month or more they said that the oil in kuwait is discoverd in 30 places.. there is still 70 places which you will find oil + GAS in kuwait
sorry fot my bad english :P

yea but that doesnt matter bcuz in 50 years there will be a mass substitute and the demand for oil will greatly drop

the next 20 30 50 years they will need more oil spesally for china & india +asia markets

but im pretty sure there will be a mass alternative in the next 50 years. billions of dollars are poured into alternative fuel research every year

Not only that, but China is currently building many nuclear plants (I think the estimate is ten) so in a decade or so, they won't need as much oil. Plus the Asian economies will be like the tiger economies- they'll rise for some time, and then will hit the ground. What do we do after that?!!!!

Hey everybody,

I was just looking through some freehold properties in Dubai and I got the idea, what do you guys think about q8 allowing freehold property? Or is it already allowed? Is there any freehold property in Kuwait?

I think it would be a good idea. Even though it might not happen on a large scale like Dubai as of yet, but atleast the 2 million non-kuwaitis living in Kuwait might start buying some.

In the long run, it could definetely take off.

Hey everybody,

I was just looking through some freehold properties in Dubai and I got the idea, what do you guys think about q8 allowing freehold property? Or is it already allowed? Is there any freehold property in Kuwait?

I think it would be a good idea. Even though it might not happen on a large scale like Dubai as of yet, but atleast the 2 million non-kuwaitis living in Kuwait might start buying some.

In the long run, it could definetely take off.

Right now, there is no freehold in Kuwait. THe freehold in Dubai is based on a 99-year lease. The freehold in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi Emirates is open to GCC nationals only.

As for Qatar, the freehold is 100% in the Pearl, Lusail, Al-Khor (60 km from DOHA) ..

As for Saudi its open for Saudi nations only. (I think except Makkah which recently became for Gulf also I THINK)

إعداد وتعريب: إيمان عطية
يواصل قطاع المصارف في الكويت مسيرته المثيرة للاعجاب يدعمه اقتصاد قوي ومتنام في انشطته النفطية وغير النفطية. ونجحت المصارف الكويتية في تحقيق ايرادات قوية ونمو جيد في العائدات لتجني منافع تسارع نشاط قطاعات الاعمال التي تشمل عمليات الخدمات المصرفية للافراد والمنشآت الصغيرة وخدمات العملاء والعمليات المصرفية الاستثمارية وتمويل المشروعات وادارة الاصول. وقد تعزز اداء الاقتصاد الكلي للكويت بشكل كبير على مدى السنوات القليلة الماضية. اذ ازداد نمو اجمالي الناتج المحلي بمعدل يتراوح ما بين 7%8-% بفضل زيادة الانتاج النفطي وحيوية الانشطة غير النفطية.
كما ارتفع دخل الفرد من اجمالي الناتج المحلي الى اكثر من 28 الف دولار، ومن المرجع ان يحافظ المركز المالي للبلاد على قوته على المدى المتوسط مع الاخذ بعين الاعتبار نظرة مستقبلية ملائمة لاسعار النفط.
وتعززت ايضا ميزانية الحكومة بفضل الايرادات النفطية الكبيرة واتسمت السياسة المالية بالتوسعية مع زيادة الانفاق وارتفاع العجز الاساسي غير النفطي، فيما يتعلق باجمالي الناتج المحلي غير النفطي بنحو 62% .
وقد ساهمت جميع هذه العوامل في زيادة النشاط الاستثماري والثروات الضرورية في الكويت. كما ان معدل الادخار الحكومي الذي يبلغ 28% من اجمالي الناتج المحلي هو الاعلى بين جميع دول التعاون الخليجي.
وشهدت الاموال داخل النظام المصرفي والمالي نموا مطردا بفضل التوسع في الائتمان الى القطاع الخاص والزيادة في صافي الاصول الاجنبية. اما الصادرات فحافظت على قوتها بفضل النفط، ونمو الواردات ظل مرتفعا نتيجة للنشاط الاقتصادي المحلي القوي. وقد استفادت انشطة التمويل التجاري للبنوك في كلا المجالين.
جانب كبير من الطلب المتزايد على تمويل الواردات وضمان الاعمال يعزى الى المستوى العالي لنشاط التشييد والبناء المحلي في الكويت. ورغم ان طريق التجارة الى العراق وجهود اعادة البناء ليست بالكبيرة جدا حتى الان، فانها رغم ذلك، كانت مهمة. كما استمرت استفادة البنوك الكويتية من توسع القطاع الخاص الذي ازدادت مشاركته في قطاعات اعتادت ان تهيمن عليها الحكومة ومنها على وجه الخصوص الاتصالات والطيران وتطوير البنية التحتية.
وبفعل قوى السوق المحلية توسعت ادارات تمويل المشروعات والعمليات المصرفية الاستثمارية في البنوك الكويتية.
فمع تشغيل الانتاج النفطي قرب طاقته القصوى، طبقت الحكومة خططا استثمارية لتوسيع الطاقة الانتاجية وزيادة علميات التكرير ومضاعفة انتاج البتروكيماويات. وبالتالي فان التمويل المصرفي ينمو نتيجة لتلك المشروعات الكبيرة الحجم المتعلقة بتطوير البنية التحتية.



قطاع الطاقة
وبحسب تقديرات المسؤولين التنفيذيين في قطاع النفط الكويتي فان البلاد بحاجة الى ان تستثمر 64 مليار دولار في قطاعات الطاقة في السنوات المقبلة. 26 مليار دولار منها ستكون للاستكشاف النفطي، وزيادة الانتاج و4 مليارات دولار للاستثمارات الدولية. جزء كبير ايضا سيخصص لتوسيع طاقة التكرير وعمليات التوزيع والمبيعات في الكويت. اما خارج نطاق قطاع النفط والطاقة، فان توسيع مطار الكويت الدولي يعد من اهم المشروعات.
وسيواصل نشاط التمويل والاستثمار قوته بفعل متانة مركز الفائض المالي للبلاد والحاجة لمزيد من التحسين في هيكلية الميزانية من خلال الزيادة التدريجية في الانفاق الرأسمالي وترشيد المساعدات الحكومية وتحقيق توازن اكثر فعالية بين الانفاق المنتج والادخار المالي. وستلعب الادارة الفعالة والكفؤة لمدخرات الدولة المتنامية دورا اساسيا في الديمومة المالية الطويلة المدى للكويت.
وضعت الحكومة الكويتية خطة خصخصة طموحة ولذلك فان المؤسسات المالية الرئيسية تسعى الى الاستفادة من فرص التمويل والهيكلة والاستشارات التي تصاحب الخطة.
وتخطط الحكومة لبيع حصة 25% من مصفاة تكرير يخطط لبنائها وتبلغ طاقتها الانتاجية 615 الف برميل يوميا اضافة الى 30% من الشركة الكويتية للاستكشافات البترولية الخارجية ، فضلا عن حصة 49% من شركة الكويت للحفر.
وتخطط الحكومة الكويتية لخصخصة مشروعين للبتروكيماويات ينتجان الاسمدة والبروبيلين ومصنع للبوتان وشركة ناقلات النفط، والهدف هو استكمال الجزء الاكبر من برنامج الخصخصة بحلول عام 2010، وقد قامت شركة ناقلات الكويت بتوسيع عمليات ناقلاتها فضلا عن عزمها اصدار تراخيص جديدة للناقلات.



النشاط العقاري
وقد شكل النشاط العقاري الدافع الرئيسي لنمو الاصول وايرادات البنوك على امتداد السنوات القليلة الماضية. سواء على صعيد عمليات خدمات الافراد الصغيرة والمنشآت او العمليات الكبيرة في السوق التجارية. ومن المشروعات العقارية الرئيسية المقرر ان تبدأ قريبا او على مدى العامين المقبلين، مشروع مدينة الحرير وقوامه 86 مليار دولار ومدينة الصبية الجديدة وكلفتها 10 مليارات دولار ومشروع عريفجان السكني وكلفته 10 مليارات دولار في جنوب الكويت، اضافة الى مدينة الخباري في منطقة الفحيحيل وكلفتها 5.5 مليارات دولار فضلا عن جامعة الكويت بقيمة 2 مليار دولار.
ان الوضع الحالي للنظام المصرفي الكويتي جيد تماما، فنمو الائتمان خصوصا في الاقراض الاستهلاكي كان كبيرا وقد سبب في بعض المناسبات اثارة قلق السلطات. وقد ساهم معدل القروض الى الودائع الذي وضع لتشديد الشروط النقدية في ابطاء معدل نمو القروض وزيادة الودائع. ومع ذلك فان سقف معدل القروض الى الودائع قلص الفعالية وبالتالي فان اعادة طرح ادوات تستند الى حالة السوق سيكون مجديا اكثر.
في اعقاب وفاة الامير الراحل الشيخ جابر الاحمد الجابر الصباح في العام الماضي، واجهت الحكومة الجديدة تحديات شملت تطوير علاقة عمل مع مجلس الامة أو الحفاظ عليها.
وفي بعض الاحيان، اعاق جهاز التخطيط تطور مشروعات الاستثمار والبنية التحتية، ورغم التحسن لا يزال هناك عبء بيروقراطي بعض الشيء عند اخراج مشروعات رئيسية الى حيز التنفيذ، اذ يتعين ان توافق ادارات عدة على المشروعات اضافة الى الوزارة الراعية للمشروع، مما يجعل من انجاز عمل في الكويت امرا صعبا قد يؤدي في بعض الاوقات الى تأجيله.
ومن الطبيعي ان العديد من المشروعات التي للبنوك علاقة عمل بها هي ذات صلة بصناعة النفط. فمشروع الكويت يهدف الى زيادة الانتاج في الحقول الشمالية الى 4 ملايين برميل يوميا بحلول عام 2020، ومن المشروعات الاخرى بناء مصنع Equate II لانتاج 850 ألف طن سنويا من الايثلين و600 ألف طن من الايثلين غليكول و450 ألف طن من البوليثيلين.
وتركز البنوك الكويتية، خصوصا الكبيرة منها بقيادة البنك الوطني على التموضع في هذا النشاط وتعزيز ادارات التمويل المتخصصة لديها.



قدرة تنافسية
البنوك الكويتية خصوصا الكبيرة منها تعزز هي الاخرى انشطتها وعملياتها في تلك المجالات غير ان للبنك الوطني السبق والافضلية من خلال النطاق الكبير لعملياته اذ اضافة الى الحجم فان البنوك بحاجة الى تعزيز اساليبها وتقنياتها لدعم قدراتها التنافسية. ومع ذلك فان بنوكا صغيرة مثل بنك برقان استطاعت ان تعزز عملياتها في مجالات العمليات المصرفية الاستثمارية والتمويلية.
وتعتبر الخدمات المصرفية للافراد والمنشآت الصغيرة مهمة وحيوية جدا بنجاح معظم المصارف الكويتية. ويشكل هذا الجزء من القروض المصرفية دوما الجزء الاكبر من اجمالي محفظة القروض للبنك. فالانفاق الاستهلاكي القوي يعزز الطلب على التمويل الاستهلاكي من البنوك. كما ان القروض العقارية تنمو ايضا فضلا عن النمو في سوق بطاقات الائتمان. ونتيجة للزيادات الحادة السابقة في الاسهم المحلية، فان نسبة كبيرة من محافظ البنوك لقروض التمويل للافراد خصصت لتمويل شراء الاوراق المالية.
وتتطلب استراتيجيات الخدمات المصرفية الناجحة للافراد شبكات توزيع واسعة ومتموضعة بشكل جيد وتشمل خطوط توزيع 'غير مادية' مثل مراكز الاتصال والخدمة المصرفية عبر الانترنت. وقد واجهت هوامش الارباح وايرادات البنوك بعض الضغوط، خصوصا لجهة الشركات لكن الارباح على صعيد خدمات التجزئة فلا تزال مثمرة.
وتشهد الخدمات المصرفية الاسلامية للافراد والمستهلكين ازدهارا وطلبا قويا في الكويت، كما ان سوق الصكوك تتطور ويأمل النظام في تأسيس منتج يعمل وفقا لاحكام الشريعة لتزويد المؤسسات الاسلامية باتفاقيات اعادة الشراء وادوات السيولة الاخرى.
من الاسواق الاخرى المتنامية والمدرة للارباح في الكويت. ادارة الثروات والخدمات المصرفية الخاصة لاقراض الاغنياء وادارة استثماراتهم.
وتعمل البنوك الاصغر حجما على تأسيس حضور لها في هذين المجالين. فبنك الكويت والشرق الاوسط الذي يملك فيه 67.45% بنك الاهلي المتحد، عزز من قاعدة منتجاته في ادارة الثروات والخدمات المصرفية الخاصة. كما ان للبنك شركة وساطة متخصصة تابعة له لخدمة عملائه من ذوي الدخل المرتفع.
كما وسع بنك الكويت والشرق الاوسط من نطاق الصناديق الاستثمارية المطروحة لزبائنه. وفي استراتيجية يتبعها بعض البنوك الاخرى. وتركز الصناديق الاستثمارية على قطاعات مثل العقار والاسهم الخاصة. كما ان اسواق الخليج استقطبت قدرا جيدا من تلك الاموال.
ان النظرة المستقبلية لقطاع التمويل والمصارف الكويتية جيدة جدا، يدعمها مناخ اقتصادي محلي قوي ويعززها نمو اقتصادي مع الحاجة الى تطوير كبير في البنية التحتية على المدى المتوسط.
ان الثروة التي تدفقت على البلاد كان لها اثر ايجابي على انشطة خدمات التجزئة المصرفية للافراد التي تشمل الطلب على القروض وادارة الاصول والعمليات المصرفية الاستثمارية الخاصة. كما ان نشاطات الاسواق المالية والعمليات الاستثمارية الكبيرة تشكل ايضا فرص نمو عالية.



بيتك يتمتع بمركز قوي
يتمتع بيت التمويل الكويتي (بيتك) بمركز قوي في سوق الخدمات المصرفية للأفراد والمنشآت الصغيرة في الكويت، اذ تشمل خدماته التمويلية تمويل السيارات ومبيعات السيارات وتمويل المعدات الثقيلة والبناء. ويقود بيت التمويل مجال تمويل وتجارة السيارات في الكويت وتصل حصته السوقية في الاسكان والعقار التجاري الى 15%. كما وسع بيت التمويل من حضوره الى خارج الحدود الكويتية، مؤسسا مصارف تابعة في ماليزيا وتركيا والبحرين والامارات.

'الوطني' يتوسع
رغم النمو القوي على الصعيد المحلي، يدرك البنك الوطني الطبيعة الصغيرة نسبيا للسوق الكويتية، وبالتالي فهو يتوسع اقليميا في أسواق مثل قطر والسعودية والأردن ولبنان.
ومع ان العمليات المحلية للبنك الوطني قوية، كغيره من البنوك الكويتية الأخرى، لكنه يستفيد ايضا من النشاط المتزايد في التجارة والاستثمار. إذ لعب البنك الوطني دورا بارزا في التمويل المباشر والاكتتابات الأولية والاندماجات واصدار السندات. وجميع هذه العمليات شهدت نشاطا مزدهرا في الكويت. وفي خطوة للاستفادة من التحولات المحلية والاقليمية أسس البنك الوطني 'ان بي كيه كابيتال' الذراع الاستثمارية للبنك لادارة الخدمات الاستثمارية والتمويل. خصوصا أن توسع أنشطة سوق الأوراق المالية استحضر معه منتجات استثمارية جديدة مع تركيز على سوقي الأسهم والدين أو القروض التي تشمل تمويل الاستحواذات واصدارات حقوق الأسهم.

المنافسة الأجنبية مازالت محدودة
حتى الآن انحصرت المنافسة الأجنبية الأساسية في اسواق الأوراق المالية الدولية وإدارة الأصول. وقد تغير هذا الوضع الآن مع اتخاذ الكويت لقرار فتح سوقها أمام البنوك الأجنبية. اذ تم منح تراخيص لبنك 'اتش اس بي سي' و'بي ان بي باريباس' بنك ابو ظبي الوطني وسيتي بنك وبنك مسقط في حين تنظر طلبات أخرى الموافقة على منحها تراخيص العمل في الكويت.
وفي هذه المرحلة، فإن الحضور الأجنبي محصور بفرع واحد فقط ونتيجة لذلك فإن المصارف الأجنبية لن تكون قادرة على المنافسة بفعالية، خصوصا فيما يتعلق بخدمات الافراد والمنشآت الصغيرة وسيتركز التنافس الرئيسي على مجالات العمل المتخصصة والشركات المصرفية الرفيعة المستوى وتمويل المشروعات.
ويعتبر بنك الكويت الوطني أكبر مؤسسة مالية في الكويت، ومن اللاعبين الكبار الآخرين في الكويت بنك الخليج والبنك التجاري، حيث كان أداؤها جميعا جيد جدا. وبالنسبة لبنك الخليج والبنك التجاري فإنهما يعملان على توسيع شبتكي فروعهما ويتطلعان للعمل خارج الكويت ايضا.

موجة خدمات إسلامية متنامية
كما هي الحال في جميع أنحاء دول الخليج، تنمو العمليات والتمويل والخدمات المصرفية الاسلامية بسرعة كبيرة في الكويت نتيجة لطلب السوق وطرح منتجات جديدة على صعيدي الخدمات المصرفية للأفراد والمنشآت الصغيرة والعمليات المصرفية مع المؤسسات الكبيرة.
ويقود بيت التمويل الكويتي وبنك بوبيان سباق التنافس في مجال المصارف الاسلامية. ومع ذلك، فإن عددا من المؤسسات غير المصرفية تقوم بنشاط التمويل الاسلامي في الكويت ومنها دار الاستثمار وشركة أعيان للاجارة والاستثمار. وهما نشطتان في مجال التمويل الاستهلاكي السريع النمو وقد استفادتا نتيجة الطلب القوي على هذا النوع من الخدمات.
وبعيدا عن شركات التمويل غير المصرفية الاسلامية التي تعمل في مجال التمويل الاستهلاكي، يوجد شركات أخرى غير مصرفية للتمويل الاستهلاكي تعمل وفقا للقواعد المصرفية التجارية. ومنها على سبيل المثال شركة التسهيلات التجارية ونشاطها الاساسي تمويل القروض والسيارات على أقساط للمستهلكين والشركة الدولية للتمويل والشركة الكويتية للتمويل والاستثمار. وقد تحول البنك العقاري الى بنك يعمل وفقا لأحكام الشريعة الإسلامية.



غلف بيزنس

CBK Governor urges banks to unite

KUWAIT: Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) Sheikh Salem AbdulAziz AlـSabah stressed that Kuwaiti banks should unite to follow up variables in banking sector worldwide in the light of globalization. Sheikh Salem spoke during an event organized by the Kuwait Banks Union and emphasized that there is no room for small entities in the banking game, noting that the merger plan will mainly contribute in drawing a new banking map in the future.

He also strongly recommended following the merging system, saying that there is a good chance to establish mega banking entities with high competitive capacity worldwide. “I have been calling for the merging system since 1988 and I believe that local banks should consider merger inside and outside Kuwait; but of course the last word is for the banks’ owners and CBK does not have the authority to impose a specific policy on them,” said the Governor.

‘Kuwait’s economic reform, promises and delayed actions’ was the title of a conference on the activity of private sector. The conference was organized by the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry last week in Kuwait. Nobody was surprised by the title because we all are used to it. But all of us were shocked by the findings and ranking of Kuwait in the last spot in elementary education and the second last in higher education according to a recent study which was conducted by Kuwait’s Chamber of Commerce comparing Kuwait with other nine countries of identical nature.

Kuwait was also ranked second last in attracting foreign investments and personal income. Actually the total foreign investments didn’t exceed $250 million in Kuwait last year although each of the other Gulf States’ foreign investments exceeded $1 billion. On the other hand Kuwait beat the record for accumulating and generating cash and probably “we are ranked first in the world but then what? So what if we have and/or own more than $200 billion in foreign reserve or investments overseas if we are ranked at the bottom in health services and postal services, technical advancement and private contribution in local infrastructure.

We have been talking and have never stopped talking about the deterioration of our position in comparison not only with the neighboring countries but the outside world. What has happened is that the gap between us is widening. Worst has still to come over the next few months with expected water and electricity shortage which we will be forced to accept and live with regular scheduled cuts in electricity. Can anyone imagine that with the wealth and the mountains of cash that Kuwait has we all have to face regular power cuts.

The lack of vision and lack of taking timely decisions have caused us all sorts of problems. There is no point in having and owning cash if no proper planning and long-term strategy is put in place to move forward. The economic reforms are not empty words - they need determination, vision and a will to move forward. It’s not asking for more studies and recommendations from the World Bank and financial institutions respectively. It is applications and implementations and determinations and without them we are to be in the last position as we are today.

I am sure similar conferences like the one we saw last week will take place again over the next five years but we will have less audience and will be repeating what we have said during this conference. Certainly the future doesn’t look bright. If we want to tackle our daily issues of power cuts and water shortage we need to move forward, we need to start from scratch but we still need to have vision and a strategy without which we will continue to face daily problems — which don’t need plans, vision and strategy — but cash which we have aplenty.

By Kamel Al-Harami - Independent Oil Analyst

KUWAIT CITY : The Ministry of Communications (MoC) is planning to privatize the postal and transportation sectors in order to offer better services to citizens and to bring these services at par with those in the developed countries, reports Al-Qabas daily. Undersecretary at the ministry Abdul-Aziz Al-Osaimi said the ministry is trying to be in tune with the changing times and plans to adopt all the latest technological advancements that have taken place in these sectors.

Speaking about the transportation sector, Al-Osaimi said, “there are plans to create an autonomous transport authority and it will be responsible for organizing all transport facilities both on land and in sea.” Referring to the postal services, he said, “we need to keep ourselves abreast with the developments in this field and follow the example of some countries, which are now fully depending on postal services for transferring money and for postal orders.”

The Undersecretary also spoke about the optic fiber project, which is being implemented in South Surra. “This project will take time but over a period of time, I can assure that we will have optic fiber network throughout Kuwait and everyone will enjoy high quality services.”

Stating that the ministry is also open to suggestions and complaints of all kinds, he mentioned that it sets a date for customers to register their complaints through a special committee. The ministry has also put suggestion boxes in its premises. Hoping that the new Minister of Communications Sharida Al-Meosherji will perform his duty well and complete all transactions on time, Al-Osami added, “changing of ministers does not affect the performance of the ministry.”

الكويت تكتشف حقل غاز كبيرا في الشمال

ذكرت صحيفة كويتية أمس أن الكويت اكتشفت حقل غاز كبيرا في شمال البلاد، وقالت صحيفة القبس في تقرير لم تنسبه إلى أي مصدر إن الاختبارات الاولية التي أجرتها وزارة النفط اثبتت وجود كميات كبيرة من الغاز في الحقل. ويقع حقل الغاز الجديد قرب أم نقا بين الروضتين والعبدلي في شمال الكويت، وأعلنت الكويت كشفاً كبيرا بالقرب من أم نقا في مارس آذار 2006 ليضيف احتياطيات غاز جديدة تبلغ نحو 35 تريليون قدم مكعبة.

الكويت تكتشف حقل غاز كبيرا في الشمال

ذكرت صحيفة كويتية أمس أن الكويت اكتشفت حقل غاز كبيرا في شمال البلاد، وقالت صحيفة القبس في تقرير لم تنسبه إلى أي مصدر إن الاختبارات الاولية التي أجرتها وزارة النفط اثبتت وجود كميات كبيرة من الغاز في الحقل. ويقع حقل الغاز الجديد قرب أم نقا بين الروضتين والعبدلي في شمال الكويت، وأعلنت الكويت كشفاً كبيرا بالقرب من أم نقا في مارس آذار 2006 ليضيف احتياطيات غاز جديدة تبلغ نحو 35 تريليون قدم مكعبة.


Wow that's good news

Kuwait's Agility buys Chinese logistics firm

KUWAIT, May 14 (Reuters) - Kuwaiti transport logistics company Agility said on Monday it had acquired a Chinese freight company as part of its expansion in China.
Agility, a global logistics firm, did not disclose in a statement the financial terms of the acquisition.

Agility will have 14 offices in China with the acquisition of Guangzhou Runtang International Transport Company Limited.

The Chinese firm focuses on ocean freight-forwarding services, it said.

By B Izzak and A Saleh
KUWAIT: Several Islamist MPs issued statements yesterday opposing the government's plans to shift the weekend from Thursday-Friday to Friday-Saturday following such a move by a number of Gulf states. The MPs said their opposition is based on the fact that such a move will mean imitating the West and could undermine some religious obligations, especially that many Muslims fast on Thursday. The Thawabet Al-Ummah convention also slammed the Civil Services Commission's moves to grant Saturdays off in place of Thursdays without reviewing religious or social issues. "The issue can never be considered a mere weekend one," said members of the convention, reminding authorities that Muslim scholars considered it a religious violation and called for further studies on the sensitive issue.

A statement issued at the convention explained that Friday was a holiday for Muslims, while Sundays are for Christians and Saturday is a Jewish holiday. The statement also mentioned verses from the Holy Quran referring to the link between Saturdays and Sundays to Christians and Jews in addition to a hadith that bans Muslims from acting like non-Muslims or following their traditions. Additionally, they said according to Muslim scholars, most Muslims fast on Thursdays following the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Separately, IslamistMP Waleed Al-Tabtabae called for shortening working hours in government offices to 1.00 pm instead of 2.00 pm during summer months in a bid to cut electricity and water consumption.

^^ Changing the weekend will be really good for businesses and the economy.
We are closed on Thursday and Friday. The rest of the world is closed on Saturday and Sunday. So the only common working days we have left are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday!!!

and wow great suggestion to cut electricity and water consumption. people NEVER use electricity and water at home, they ONLY use it during working hours at their offices.

you know, i for one, hate this parliamentary bullshit that never lets any real progress be made

friday-saturday weekend is good !!!

whatever,, who gives a sh*t about these dumbasses

Kuwait’s KNPC tenders for 615,000 bpd refinery

(Reuters)

17 June 2007

KUWAIT - State refiner Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has launched a tender for its new 615,000 barrels per day Al Zour refinery, according to an advertisement published on Sunday.


‘Large, world renowned companies’ interested in the tender should submit prequalification documents prior to July 3, KNPC said on its website www.knpc.com/new_refinery_project.

In May, Kuwait doubled the planned budget for the plant to $12 billion. The Gulf Arab state cancelled a first tender for the plant in February after bids came in far above its initial budget.

Kuwait's Boubyan to open British Islamic bank

KUWAIT, July 8 (Reuters) - Boubyan Bank , Kuwait's second-largest Islamic lender, said an affiliate would open a bank in Britain on Monday to tap demand among Britain's 1.8 million Muslims for investments that comply with their beliefs.
The Kuwaiti bank will own 20 percent of the Bank of London and Middle East, which won a licence to offer banking and investment services, Boubyan said in a statement.

It said its investment amounted to 28.6 million pounds ($57.49 million).

A Boubyan Bank official told Reuters the Kuwaiti lender would be the biggest shareholder of the British bank.

Islamic banking complies with the religion's ban on lending on interest and offers Muslims investments that avoid prohibited activities such as dealing in pork, alcohol or gambling.

Although much of the growth of Islamic banking in the past few years has been driven by demand in the Gulf Arab region, more Muslims in the West are seeking financing and investment that follow the rules of sharia, or Islamic law.

Britain wants to turn London into a centre for Islamic finance and is studying the possibility of selling Islamic bonds, Treasury Minister Ed Balls said in April.

Shares in Boubyan Bank were trading lower on Sunday, although they pared some losses after the news. At 0845 GMT the stock was down 3.95 percent at 0.730 dinars. ($1=.4975 Pound)

Around 30 companies submit bids for Kuwait refinery

KUWAIT, July 9 (Reuters) - Kuwait state refiner KNPC said on Monday around 30 companies have submitted preliminary bids for Kuwait's planned 615,000 bpd al-Zour refinery, the Middle East's biggest refinery project.
Among applicants were many large international firms, a spokesman for Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC) said. He declined to give any more detail on the bidders.

French firm Technip , U.S. firms KBR , Bechtel and Foster Wheeler and Italy's Snamprogetti had submitted pre-qualification bids which were due by July 3, Kuwaiti daily al-Jarida said.

In May Kuwait doubled the planned budget to $12 billion for the plant, which would be the largest single refinery in the Middle East. Rapidly rising costs in the energy industry have delayed the project and threatened its viability.

The Gulf Arab state cancelled a first tender in February after bids came in far above its initial budget. According to local newspaper reports, bids reached as much as $15 billion.

KNPC plans to complete construction of the refinery by end 2011, a year later than the original schedule.

KNPC has said bids for the five engineering, procurement and construction packages would be invited early in the third quarter with a bidding time of around 10 weeks and contracts awarded late in the fourth quarter.

The first package was for oil processing units, the second for hydrogen and sulphur recovery and production, the third for power, steam and water, the fourth for storage and the fifth for marine facilities.

KNPC has contracted engineering and construction company Fluor Corp for project management.

At 615,000 bpd, al-Zour would exceed the capacity of the Middle East's largest refinery, Saudi Arabia's 550,000 bpd Ras Tanura plant. Saudi Arabia plans to build another 400,000 bpd refinery in Ras Tanura.

Kuwait grants Doha Bank permit
3 days ago

The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) announced on Monday it has granted Qatar's Doha Bank an initial licence to operate in the emirate, making it the sixth foreign bank to obtain the permit.

World banking giants BNP Paribas, Citibank and HSBC, besides Abu Dhabi National Bank of the United Arab Emirates, are already operating in Kuwait which opened its doors to foreign banks more than three years ago.


Qatar National Bank was granted a licence to operate but has not yet started business. Doha Bank's new licence still needs confirmation from the cabinet.

Foreign banks operating in oil-rich Kuwait are however not allowed to work in the retail sector, nor are they allowed to open more than one branch.

In January 2004, parliament approved a law allowing foreign banks to operate in the emirate after securing CBK approval. The law stipulates Kuwaitis must form at least half of the bank's workforce within three years of operation.

Kuwait has seven local commercial and three Islamic banks.

http://afp.google.com

i think granting licence to foreign banks and not letting them to work in retail or to open more than 1 branch... is just stupid !!

whats the point of bringing these banks.

Kuwait's NBK sold 80 million treasury shares-source

KUWAIT, Sept 22 - National Bank of Kuwait sold about 80 million treasury shares on Thursday, when trading volumes in the country's biggest bank by market value soared, a source at NBK told Reuters.

"We saw an opportunity and sold the stock on Thursday," said the source, who declined to be identified. The treasury shares, held by the bank for a long period, were sold at "market prices," the source said.

Some 101.77 million shares in NBK changed hands on Thursday, compared with 3.47 million on Wednesday, and a 90-day average of 2.61 million shares, according to Reuters data.

The stock closed unchanged at 2.44 dinars , valuing the transaction at 195.2 million dinars.

Kuwait's benchmark is the best performer in the Gulf Arab region this year, up more than 28 percent to Thursday's record close of 12,925.50 points.

The treasury shares were sold before an extraordinary general meeting on Sunday where shareholders are due to approve a 20 percent capital increase to finance NBK's acquisition of Al-Watany Bank of Egypt and a 40 percent stake in Istanbul's Turkish Bank.

Treasury shares are shares that were issued and later reacquired by the company, reducing the amount of outstanding stock in the market. The shares are available for resale.

Yahoo!News

Privatization of Kuwait's service sector to activate bonds market - officials


KUWAIT, Sept 23 (KUNA) -- The privatization of Kuwait's service sector would be the gateway to activation of the country's bonds' market, said officials at companies listed on Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE)Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) on Sunday.

Privatization is a key means of attracting local and foreign capital to gigantic projects, the investors said in separate interviews with KUNA recently.

They urged Kuwaiti investment authorities to push forward the privatization of state-owned firms, shrink the government's role, and give free rein to local and foreign private firms in the infrastructure projects.

The initiation of a secondary bonds market in Kuwait will increase the local capital market and improve its image, and will go in line with the plan to transform Kuwait into a regional financial and commercial hub, they said.

It will also prepare ground for launching long-term capital projects that can be funded through bonds, they noted.

The existence of an effective bonds' market can provide more options to financial institutions and further enhance the economic growth, according to the interviewed officials.

Such market is a key tool in the distribution of assets of any investment portfolio and luring more foreign direct investments.

"The total value of issued bonds in Kuwait is only KD 500 million (some USD 1,790.51 million)," said Ali Al-Bader, member of the Higher Council for Planning and Development.

Al-Bader attributed the meager figure to lack of demand on such an investment tool, as the Kuwaiti government was the only financer of all service sector projects including those related to infrastructure and the oil sector.

There is no role for bonds and foreign investment in the country's service sector so far, he explained.

However, the privatization of the sector will open the door for activation of bond market, he underscored.

On his part, Chairman of Al-Zumuruda Investment Co. Jassem Zainel said the volume of issued bonds in Kuwait was very limited and only a very few number of firms issue them.

Bonds are not a common tools for funding projects of firms in Kuwait, he pointed out.

As for Deputy Chairman of Argan International Real Estate Co. Saad Al-Manaifi, he said the activation of the bonds' market was an important step to maximize this traditional investment tool.

The step will necessitate a lot of legislations, he noted.

The 1980s is considered the best decade for the bonds' market in Kuwait as 27 bonds were listed on the KSE in 1987.

By Mohammad Kamal

Zawya (http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidKUN0018070923093103/secIndustries/pagFinancial%20Services)

KUWAIT: Vibrant economic activity, the swelling of the population and the steady increase of the consumers' purchasing power have gradually led to the expansion of the franchise business in Kuwait - part of the economy that offers a further growth potential.

According to the marketing manager of a world-known brand, even inflation would help businesses that take up a value-based enterprise. George Khawam, marketing director McDonald's Kuwait, says that the boom of Kuwait's economy is bringing new people into the country. "The population increased, income also increased, and in other words even inflation would help people who move to something that has more value," Khawam said in an interview recently. Kuwait's population grew from 2.4 million in 2004 up to almost 3.5 million by 2006.

Vijay Elantholy, director of operations and partner, Ruby Tuesday and Peppes Pizza, Midle East further attributed the growth of the franchise business to the economic progress, the growing income, the bigger purchasing power and the greater numbers of visitors to the country. "People have enough money to spend," he concluded.

Talking to the Kuwait Times in his office above the Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Sharq - the first Ruby Tuesday franchise outlet that opened in the Middle East in the end of 2003 - Elantholy said that at that time the Kuwait market was mature but still there were options, which holds true some four years later.
Cashing in on the potential of the market, which Elantholy says still offers franchise opportunities, the casual dining restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday recently announced its expansion plans for the Middle East charting to open more than 15 new outlets.

Having currently three outlets in Kuwait and one in Jeddah, Ruby Tuesday expects to expand in the Middle East opening three stores every year for the coming five years. Furthermore, one Ruby Tuesday restaurant is soon to open in Saudi Arabia and two others are presently under construction in Dubai.

A safe investment
Starting up your own business in the food industry requires a considerable amount of investment, a well-outlined business plan and the know-how. Since opening up your own restaurant can be an expensive and in the long run - a slightly risky affair - entrepreneurs tend to go for the much easier option: Getting a franchise. Being a franchisee, Elantholy says, already everything is available on a plate. "You only have to study, copy and implement," he said succinctly.

Khawam also agrees that franchising is a proven effective method. He compared it to a system that has been tested somewhere around the world and it "proved to be very efficient."

Starting up your own business as well as franchisee can work. However, according to Elantholy franchising is the easier way. In Khawam's words, "The minimising of the experience time is what makes franchising a better business opportunity than starting your own business."

The booming business in the Middle East helps entrepreneurs willing to start up a restaurant enter the dining industry. Khawam explains that franchising would be the low risk business opportunity. Many entrepreneurs want to enter the business but they do not have the know-how, Khawam said, the best thing for them, he advised, is to look for a franchising.

Brand as success factor
Franchisers assist with management, training and know-how, the cost of the product is handled by the franchiser and the brand has already gained the confidence of the people elsewhere. To start a new business, Khawam observed, you need to build the brand, as it is the main success factor of any business. "People go after brands," Khawam says, "because they deliver certain promise to the people."

Such was the case with the evolution of McDonald's in Kuwait. Having opened its first restaurant in the country in 1994, today this household name in the fast food industry operates 48 outlets in Kuwait alone.

With its almost 300 outlets in the fast food segment, Kuwait has served and still does, as a franchise core for the Middle East region. Brands that need no introduction - such as KFC, Hardees, Burger King and Hungry Bunny - have all started from Kuwait. "Kuwait is the most competitive and mature market in the region. The most successful brands are based in Kuwait," says Khawam and adds, "Abu Dhabi and Dubai start picking up now. Saudi Arabia is also a very big market but it starts picking up only now."

Also, brands adapt to the local market and opt to add anything that would complement their business but will not divert it from its main line. Ruby Tuesday, for instance, has a sheesha in its restaurant in Kuwait and McDonald's has introduced regionally developed items for the local market like McArabia.

In its latest economic brief on public finance, National Bank of Kuwait reports that Kuwait closed the year on another massive budget surplus driven by high oil prices. Although down on last year’s number, the 2006/07 surplus, at KD 5.2 billion before payments into the Reserve Fund for Future Generations (RFFG), was still the second highest in Kuwait’s history. The KD 1.7 billion fall in the surplus from 2005/06 was a result of two extraordinary items of spending: the KD 1.9 billion increase in the payment to the PIFSS (largely from a one-time payment to cover arrears in pension provision for the Kuwaiti workforce) and the KD 203 million Amiri grant that occurred during the fiscal year. Without those items, the surplus would have reached a new record of KD 7.3 billion.

The 2006/07 surplus was equivalent to 18% of Kuwait’s 2006 GDP.

NBK states that, including the extraordinary items, total spending leapt by KD 3.4 billion, or 50%, on 2005/06. This more than offset an increase in budget revenues of KD 1.8 billion, or 13%, which was boosted by a 12% increase in oil revenues. The underlying picture, however, suggests that government fiscal policy is becoming more expansionary. Even excluding the one-off items, spending increased by 20%, well above the average of 12% seen in the previous 3 years. Spending growth would have been faster still, were it not for a 7% under-spend across government departments – particularly in capital expenditures due to delays in project implementation. If spending had come in on budget, it would have risen by 62% on the year, or 32% excluding the extraordinary items.


The overall surplus excludes investment income, which is not officially reported by the government and treated as an off-budget item. According to balance-of-payments statistics, however, the government’s investment income from abroad - primarily accruing from state assets managed by the Kuwait Investment Authority - was estimated at KD 2.72 billion in 2006. Although there are other off-budget revenues and expenditures, such as income on domestic assets and public debt servicing, investment income from abroad represents the largest such item.


The NBK report cited that the increase in government revenues to KD 15.5 billion from KD 13.7 billion in 2005/06 represented another massive windfall for the government. Oil revenues of KD 14.5 billion came in at nearly twice that budgeted for. The government’s highly conservative oil price forecast was the main reason for the variance, with the price of Kuwait Export Crude (KEC) averaging $57.6 a barrel against the $36 assumed in the budget. The higher-than-forecast oil price by itself yielded the government an additional KD 6 billion in revenues. But production also came in higher than the budget assumption of 2.247 million barrels per day (mbd), with OPEC data suggesting that Kuwait produced more than 2.5 mbd during the year.


According to NBK, non-oil revenues posted a hefty 29% increase to reach KD 998 million. Although encouraging, non-oil revenues still only account for a tiny proportion – just 6% - of Kuwait’s overall budget revenues. Kuwait currently levies no taxes on personal income. Moreover, around half of the increase in non-oil revenues came from a KD 112 million payment by the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC). Excluding that, growth in non-oil revenues would have been 14.7%.


Apart from UNCC payments, service charges (including utilities charges and transportation fees) saw the largest increase amongst sources of non-oil revenue, rising by KD 37.7 million largely due to a rise in healthcare insurance charges. At KD 449 million in 2006/07, service charges remain the largest constituent of non-oil revenues accounting for nearly half of the total.


Growth in corporate income and profit tax revenues accelerated during FY06/07 to 40%, with receipts from locally listed companies expanding by 48%, complemented by growth in tax revenues from foreign corporations of 30%. Despite being a good year for corporate profits, however, corporate taxes are still worth less than one percent of oil revenues. Customs duties increased by KD 14.5 million, reaching KD 190 million and constituting nearly one-fifth of total non-oil revenues. The 8% growth in customs duties is a slight improvement over last year.


Total expenditures were KD 10.3 billion in FY06/07, 50% higher than the previous year. Even this, however, was 7% below budget, mainly because of a 22% shortfall in spending on capital projects (partly the result of delays in project implementation) which offset an overshoot of 160% on transfers to public institutions. Still, aside from the PIFSS payment and the Amiri Grant, capital expenditure remains the largest growing expenditure category, expanding by 32% in 2006/07.


The NBK report adds that more than half of government spending in 2006/07 fell under the Miscellaneous and Transfers category – which captures grants, and spending on public institutions such as the National Assembly, Kuwait University and KISR, as well as transfers abroad and spending on health services overseas. Spending in this category rose dramatically in 2006/07, by 84%, driven by the one off payments to the PIFSS and the Amiri grant. Excluding these special items, category spending would have increased by 16%.


Aside from transfers, there were other important increases in spending during the year. A KD 259 million, or 37%, increase in spending on fuel helped push total expenditures on goods and services to KD 1.4 billion, up from KD 1.1 billion the previous year.


Spending on wages and salaries under Chapter 1 increased 15.3% to KD 2.2 billion. The largest increases were at the ministries of Education, Public Health, Interior and Electricity and Water with increments of KD 124 million (24%), KD 38 million (15%), KD 26 million (6%), and KD 23 million (28%), respectively. Military wages and salaries – which appear separately under Chapter 5 (‘Transfers & Miscellaneous’) - dropped by 2.6% to KD 709 million - the first drop since 1996/97. Excluding the one-time payment to the PIFSS, overall employment-related expenditures (which include civilian and military salaries, spending on the National Labor Support program and regular transfers to the PIFSS) rose by 8% to KD 3.7 billion.


The bulk of the 32% growth in spending on development projects, maintenance, and land purchases (‘capital spending’) during 2006/07 came from a near doubling of spending on land purchases to KD 361 million. A significant increase of 27% was also seen in spending by the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEEW), even though this included a 37% under-spend from budgeted figures. Spending by the Ministry of Public Works fell in absolute terms, and came in 21% below budget.



© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

Kuwait to set up regulator, defuse bourse row


KUWAIT, Oct 4 - Kuwait said on Thursday it planned to set up a regulator complying with international standards in a bid to defuse a row between its bourse and listed companies and to attract more international investors.

On Wednesday, around a quarter of listed companies publicly criticised new trading rules introduced by the stock exchange, saying they were too strict and would chase away investors from the Arab's world second-largest bourse.

The row is a blow to Kuwait's plans to diversify the economy away from oil and become a regional financial centre like Gulf Arab neighbours Dubai and Bahrain.

Trade and Industry Minister Falah Fahd al-Hajeri told reporters after meeting lawmakers on Thursday that parliament and government would work together to draw up a stock market law, as proposed by analysts and executives.

"We agreed ... to study a law to set up a regulator which will be in line with international systems and pave the way for Kuwait to become a financial centre," Hajeri said after a meeting of parliament's financial committee.

Kuwait wants to establish an authority supervising the market which would protect investors, punish violations and define merger and listing rules, added deputy Ahmad Baqer, who heads the financial committee.

He said the committee aimed at drafting a law when it resumes work on Oct 30 after a summer break, giving the issue top priority.

WHICH LAW?

Locked in a months-long standoff with parliament, the government has so far failed to win parliamentary approval for key economic reforms, leaving Kuwait the only Gulf Arab state without a financial regulator.

The government had originally asked a team headed by Kuwait University's Amani Bouresli to draw up a tough draft based on recommendations by foreign experts but then dropped her proposal in favour of a softer version, sparking criticism.

"My proposal will be the major one that will be discussed though they will also look at others," Bouresli, a professor of finance, told Reuters after Thursday's meeting.

Analysts and executives said Kuwait needs an independent regulator for the stock market, which has imposed a set of new listing rules aimed at achieving more transparency which many executives see as too tough.

Almost a quarter of the 190 listed firms condemned the latest announcement that the bourse would halt trading in shares of companies that buy into or sell out to firms it has previously turned down for listing.

The exchange, currently supervised only by the ministry of trade and industry, has defended the new rules as aimed at protecting small shareholders. It has asked international consultants McKinsey & Company to review its performance.

_________________________________________________________

this is getting ridicolous, the company should pressure the bourse to make it a more investment/business friendlier enviroment !!!

by Shamlan AlـEssa in the daily star

The international press constantly publishes the latest economic achievements reached by certain GCC countries like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. These countries have announced on more than one occasion that they wish to convert their closed economy into an open one to compete with other major nations in order to develop in the fields of health and education.
These GCC countries also compete against each other to attract major international hospitals and universities to educate and treat their people and others, instead of referring their citizens abroad for these purposes. These countries are also in competition to become financial and economic centers in the region through encouraging international banks and institutions such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to open branches in their nations to improve their economy and attract foreign investors there.
Based on such facts, we have to ask ourselves where we are regarding such moves and other developments in the region. Our Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE), which is a pioneer in the region, is proof that we are capable of being at the forefront of development. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlـAhmad AlـSabah makes constant statements that he wishes to see Kuwait becoming an economic and financial center in the Middle East, but what are his subjects doing about it?
We have committees and ministers who are constantly being urged to implement His Highness the Amir''s wishes and we have a surplus in our budget, but what have we achieved up to now?
Our ministers and committees have paid many visits abroad, especially to Asian countries to inspect and learn how the Asians turned their economies into financial tigers and to learn from their experiences in the development field, but what are the final results?
Nothing has happened. Instead, major international companies have started their exodus abroad to other GCC countries like Bahrain and Dubai. How can we develop if we cannot even keep our own local companies in town?
We have to ask ourselves where the missing link in this chain is, and why can''t we turn these wishes turn into reality? We certainly cannot hold the National Assembly accountable for such mistakes, because the government must also be responsible for its actions in delaying the implementation of the relevant legislation.

by ArabianBusiness.com staff writer


Kuwait real estate and property professionals earn 10% more than their Middle Eastern counterparts, according to the latest statistics from Macdonald & Company.

The figure is based on the salary levels, bonuses, fringe benefits and other pertinent figures, which will be published in the company's upcoming Middle East Salary Survey.

The difference in overall compensation packages drawn by industry professionals in Kuwait and their regional counterparts is primarily driven by the high demand and the competition for highly skilled talents in the country's booming construction industry.

Local and foreign firms are implementing various high-profile development projects in both private and public sectors, which have driven the overall value of current construction projects to US$211bn, over 20 percent of the GCC region's US$1 trillion.

"The massive construction boom in Kuwait has positively impacted real estate and property professionals working in the country and has led to 10% higher compensation packages compared to what their counterparts in the region draw. Companies are competing to find highly skilled talents to occupy key positions, as local and foreign investments continue including high-value development or expansion projects," said William Buck, international director at Macdonald & Company.

"The GCC region currently has the world's biggest projects market per capita basis, and Kuwait definitely accounts for a major share in this tremendous development including residential and commercial properties as well as civil, infrastructure and logistics projects."

The Kuwait real estate industry is fuelled by a robust economy, high oil revenues, excess liquidity, and the liberalisation of property laws.

Credit facilities and real estate funds have spurred construction ventures, and demand for professionals.

Kuwait has Gulfs 2nd highest GDP after Saudi Arabia: Green
Per capita income almost $30,000 per annum

KUWAIT CITY: Two generations ago, Kuwait was undeveloped, but today it is among the richest countries in the world, says Stephen Green, Chairman of HSBC Group. Addressing a press conference at the Courtyard Marriott on Sunday, Green noted that the per capita GDP in Kuwait is almost $ 30,000 per annum and that it was well above the GCC average of $19,000. The event was held by the bank to announce its successful completion of two years in Kuwait. At $100 billion per year, he said, Kuwait has the Gulf’s second highest GDP after Saudi Arabia. Taken, together, the GCC countries comprise the seventh largest emerging market in the world with the fourth highest GDP per capita, he added.


Noting that this economic picture is just part of the story, he said socially and politically the Gulf is developing rapidly. “And Kuwait, perhaps more than its neighbors, is leading the way toward representative democracy. It was the leadership, I believe, that helped Kuwait move so decisively and shift from the dollar peg to a basket of currencies—-a move that other Gulf states may follow,” Green added.

By Francis A. Clifford Cardozo
Arab Times Staff

this article doesn't make any sense !

I doubt Kuwait has a higher GDP than the UAE and Qatar. It was at one time though and will probably be again in the future but at the moment it is very hard to believe that it's true.

its 3rd after saudi ,uae
saudi arabia 350 BILLION <<not sure
uae 186 BILLION
KUwait GDP 102 BILLION
qatar 57 BILLION
Bahrain 15 BiLLION
oman 35 BILLION

I think he said GDP per Capita.. ?

1. UAE - 46,000
2. Qatar - 30,000
2. Kuwait - 28,000

Kuwait Central bank gov. eyes more foreign banks -report

KUWAIT, Nov 25 - Kuwait's central bank wants to allow more foreign banks to operate in the country and sees scope for local lenders to consider mergers, the Kuwaiti central bank governor said in remarks published on Sunday.
The central bank hopes Kuwait's banking law will be revised to allow foreign banks to open more than one branch, Sheikh Salem Abdul-Aziz al-Sabah was quoted in an-Nahar newspaper as saying.

"In all clarity, the central bank has the wish that foreign banks can open more than one branch in Kuwait," Sabah said.

France's BNP Paribas was the first foreign bank after about three decades of nationalisation to get a licence to operate in Kuwait in 2004.

Other foreign banks, such as HSBC Holdings Plc , Citigroup Inc and National Bank of Abu Dhabi , have followed, but they are restricted to one branch.

Sheikh Salem said he expected Qatar's Doha Bank to open a branch in Kuwait by the end of the year. The central bank had received no new requests from lenders seeking banking licences, he said.

Asked whether he expected Kuwaiti lenders to pursue mergers, Sheikh Salem said: "The improving financial situation of banks is an opportunity for lenders to think seriously about merging among each other."

Yahoo!News (http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071125/tbs-kuwait-centralbank-955c2a1.html)

hi every one I am designing a tower for my graduation project but I need statistics to help me figure out Kuwait need for office buildings and hotels can any one please tell me where can I fined such statistics plz

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) was awarded the Bank of the Year Award by the popular international magazine The Banker, part of The Financial Times group.

This award was given to KFH due to its success, increasing growth, status in the Kuwaiti market, and being a pioneer in the field of Islamic financial business in the world and the region. KFH is more than just a success story, but a model for the Islamic financial institutes.

This is due to the growth, profit, amount of services, variety of businesses and global expansion, which encourages more success and leadership to build on the foundation already established. KFH will remain true to the factors that resulted in its success, Sharia-compliance being the most important factor.

Mohamed Sulaiman Al-Omar, the General Manager of KFH, stated that the awards the company has been winning, proves the success of the strategies that KFH has been implementing across all areas. 'These strategies include reinforcing our status among the local market, increasing our market share, attracting more clients, presenting the best products and innovative services, which rely on speed, accuracy and quality. Although KFH is keen on expanding globally, the Kuwaiti market remains essential to us. Our success in it is an important indicator and an evaluation that we hold dear. The best award ever is our clients' satisfaction and their appreciation for KFH, despite the fierce competition.'


Highest distribution
Al-Omar commented on the KFH advantage over its competitors in the profit side by saying that it reflects the work performance, the integration among the businesses and investment in assets, which has high value. At the same time, KFH is achieving the highest profit for depositors and shareholders in a balanced way. When comparing the performance indicators up to the end of the third quarter of both last year and this year, they show that the clients' deposits have increased by 42%, which was met by a 48% increase in investments and more than 40% growth in the operating income.

This is a record rate compared to both conventional and Islamic banks in the area. KFH has become the number one bank in Kuwait with the biggest market share of clients' deposits. It offered the highest profit distribution to its clients for the continuous deposit that reached 8.4% far surpassing its competition.

Al- Omar stated that KFH has achieved a total profit from the year 2001 till 2006 of KD519m, and increased assets by 212%, the shareholders equity increase reached 223%, the increase in deposits reached 141%.

The Banker, which is involved in following up with the financial institutions and major banks around the world, said during handing the award to Mohammed Al-Fawzan, the Assistant General Manager for the Banking Dept. and Fahad Al-Mukhaizeem, the Public Relations and Marketing Manager, that KFH has succeeded in a remarkable and encouraging way at the same time. No one can bypass the achievements that KFH has made, whether they were indicators or figures. KFH is always on the top of the lists of the most profitable institutions, highest distribution and most powerful growth. It is also the best in qualitative and creative performance in many fields and activities.

A major boom
The appreciation and respect that KFH got from a reputable authority in the economic and finance world, asserts the great interest that the international institutions involved in the success of KFH.

The company formulated an economic Islamic method as a substitute and an available choice for all of humanity. The Islamic financial business has become an essential part of the international economy and a product used all around the world in a record time, and it is not more than 30 years, when KFH was founded in 1977.

Al-Omar thanked all of KFH clients and shareholders for their loyalty and support. He also praised the employees for their efforts, who are considered the main pillar that made KFH reach its unique status. He hopes that everybody will apply the plans and strategies put forth because they are one of the important methods of reaching the status that KFH desires.

Al-Omar added that the credit goes to the pioneers who carried the responsibility and exerted a lot of effort. The Banker mentioned that KFH remarkably exists all over the world and succeed in building relations with major banks and financial institutes. Its performance was outstanding with a remarkable boom in profit, assets and shareholders equity. KFH has become the highest in market share growth, plus being the first in Kuwait in the deposit market share.
Building status
Al-Omar noted that KFH succeeded in building an excellent reputation in the international markets and operates in numerous locations. KFH Turkey has more than 80 branches, KFH Bahrain has 5 branches and KFH Malaysia has 3 branches.

KFH is keen on offering its expertise in this area to the local market by developing a bouquet of creative, competitive services and products, and it also offers a unique, world-standard service that will satisfy its clients and appeal to new categories. There is a great demand on Islamic financial services in the local market, where competitors like Islamic and foreign banks have started working. He added that locally, KFH is working on expanding its market share, reinforcing its geographical location, offering qualitative services in the fields of banking, investment, commercial and others, while offering new products.

It is worth noting that KFH was awarded many awards, which include The Best Islamic Financial Institution in the world by The Banker Middle East, and the award of the Best Islamic Bank in the product of Ijarah by EuroMoney International for 3 consecutive years. It was also awarded by Jean's Transport Finance Magazine plus an economic study that was published in Gulf Business Magazine that praised KFH and rendered it the best in the Gulf. The Gulf Studies Centre located in London said that KFH is one of the best finance institutions in the Gulf for over than 25 years of achieving added economic value.

Kuwait nearing first gas output from giant field

Kuwait is on schedule to begin producing first gas and oil early next year from a major discovery announced in the north of the country in 2006.

07 December 2007

Deputy managing director Khalid Ali al-Sumaiti of Kuwait Oil Company (KOC)Kuwait Oil Company in charge of North Kuwait told Upstream work was nearing completion on the first developmnent phase of the giant field.

Kuwait said the field has estimated in-place reserves of 32 trillion cubic feet of gas and 10 billion barrels of oil and condensate.

"We have drilled 20 appraisal and delineation wells. These will be connected to the early production facility to start production in the first quarter of 2008,'' Sumaiti said.

"The target is to produce 50,000 barrels per day of light crude and condensate and 175 million cubic feet of gas per day in early 2008."

KOC plans to implement a second-phase development programme with the aim of producing 600 MMcfd of gas and 165,000 bpd of light oil and condensate by 2011.

The final and third stage will then lift output to 1 billion cubic feet per day of gas and 275,000 bpd of oil.

Sumaiti said Kuwait may be taking risks by combining exploration and development work but since the country needs gas badly it has no other choice.

He said that the ideal way would be to first delineate the field to fully understand its reservoir before putting it on production.

"We are doing it in parallel. We are doing exploration and at the same time doing development together. We're taking risks because the country needs a lot of gas," Sumaiti said.

KOC plans to drill 82 wells in total by 2015.

Industry analysts said Kuwait needs help from international oil companies to ramp up production to the projected targets for 2015.

The gas field is fractured and needs experienced companies to fully develop its potential.

© Upstream 2007

Zawya (http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20071207064532/secIndustries/pagOil%20&%20Gas)

المقوم الرابع
وقال سموه: المقوم الرابع ثرواتنا الطبيعية والمالية. فالكويت تملك رصيدا ضخما من احتياطيات النفط المؤكدة. ناهيك عن أنها تملك مخزونا كبيرا من النفط يمكن تطويره ليزيد كميات الاحتياطي المؤكد ويزيد من عمر الإنتاج. وتشير معظم السيناريوهات الى أن الكويت ستظل تنتج نفطا عندما تنفد احتياطيات كثير من الدول النفطية. ورغم أننا نعتقد أن الطلب على النفط سوف يتزايد في العقود القادمة. وأن العرض قد لا يلبي كل حاجة السوق. إلا أننا نعتقد أن هناك مسؤولية حضارية تقع على الدول المنتجة لتوفير أكبر قدر من الطلب على النفط. فنحن قررنا رفع السعة الإنتاجية إلى الضعف تقريبا لمواجهة زيادة الطلب في المستقبل. كما نسعى إلى تطوير موانئنا حتى نكثف من عمليات التصدير. ولا يخفى عليكم أن فكرة الممر البري الذي يربط الخليج بالبحر الأبيض المتوسط تضمنت خط أنابيب لنقل نفط الكويت والعراق إلى أوروبا. فالنفط الخليجي يكاد يكون محصورا في بحيرة لها مخرج واحد هو مضيق هرمز. مما يهدد عمليات تصدير النفط لأي طارئ يغلق المضيق. فالبحث عن نقاط تصدير خارج الخليج هو موضع اهتمامنا لأننا نؤمن بأن النفط أو غيره من المواد الأساسية للعيش يجب ألا تستخدم كسلاح في الخلافات السياسية والحروب.
إن الاحتياطيات النفطية المؤكدة ستبقي الكويت دولة ممتلئة ماليا في نظر المؤسسات المالية العالمية إلى منتصف القرن الحالي على الأقل. وهي ثروة توفر قدرا كبيرا من الفوائض المالية التي نرى أنها يجب أن تتجه لبناء الإنسان الكويتي وتحديث البنى التحتية والخدمات اللوجستية التي تحتاجها الكويت كمركز مالي واقتصادي.
وإذا كانت أقطار الخليج العربي كلها ذات اقتصاديات غير متنوعة تعتمد على إنتاج وتصدير النفط بصورة رئيسية وهي اقتصاديات مفتوحة على العالم الخارجي. وتتجه أغلب تجارتها نحو الأقطار المتقدمة. إلا أن الكويت بدأت منذ أواخر الستينات في تنويع مصادر دخلها. فهي بجوار إنتاج النفط تنمي فوائضها المالية وتستثمرها بالخارج. وقد وصلت عائدات الاستثمار في فترات ما قبل الغزو العراقي للكويت إلى مستوى يقارب عائدات النفط. غير أننا سلكنا سياسة نعتز بها وهي ادخار تلك العائدات وعدم ادراجها ضمن إيرادات الدولة السنوية. وهذه الاستثمارات قوة مالية نستند إليها في كثير من خططنا ورؤانا. ولكننا لم ولن نستخدمها كوسيلة ضغط أو سلاح قط. وإذا بدأت الأسواق الأوروبية اليوم تتحدث هذه الأيام عن ظاهرة صناديق السيادة الاستثمارية وتبدي تخوفاتها منها. فإن الاستثمارات الكويتية سبقت هذه الظاهرة منذ عهد بعيد وصنعت لها سمعة طيبة في الأسواق العالمية منحتها الثقة الدولية. ولقد تجاوبت الاستثمارات الكويتية في كثير من الحالات مع الرغبات السيادية لكثير من الدول التي استثمرت فيها. وليس أدل على ذلك اضطرار الكويت لبيع جزء كبير من حصتها في أسهم شركة برتش بتروليوم إلى حد طمأن حكومة المحافظين آنذاك. بل اننا نؤكد أن استثماراتنا ساهمت في أحيان كثيرة في انعاش الأسواق وانقاذ بعض المؤسسات العريقة.
وختم ناصر المحمد كلمته قائلا: هذه مقومات الكويت التي تؤهلها لأن تكون مركزا ماليا وتجاريا وبوابة للتجارة الدولية في منطقة جنوب غرب آسيا. وانني أرجو أن أكون قد قدمت ملامح رؤيتنا لاستكمال بناء دولتنا الحديثة وإدخال كافة مستلزمات العصرنة فيها. كما أرجو أن أكون قد قدمت لكم صورة للكويت تربط ماضيها وحاضرها بمستقبلها المنشود. مع خالص شكري وتقديري لاصغائكم.

I think he said GDP per Capita.. ?

1. UAE - 46,000
2. Qatar - 30,000
2. Kuwait - 28,000


:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Qatar has a per capita of 60,000

and its the 3rd largest in the world

laa 100,000 :P

BRUSSELS (KUNA): His Highness Kuwait’s Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah affirmed in Brussels Tuesday that Kuwait enjoys several components as a financial and economic center in southwest Asia and as a gateway for international trade between the north and south. In his speech addressed before the First Kuwait Global Forum, which is held under his patronage, HH Sheikh Nasser shed light on those components, saying that the first is the Kuwaiti citizen. He noted that Kuwait has a rich and long experience in trade, industry and finance and it has followed-up on all developments regarding the global economy. HH Sheikh Nasser added that Kuwait has strong desire to be a leader in the region therefore it is adopting systems, structures and modern financial and economic methods to achieve this goal.

He stressed that the strategy of education and teaching in Kuwait is of great importance in the Kuwaiti society to meet the needs of the developmental plans in the country. As for the second component, Sheikh Nasser noted that it is the Kuwaiti land, which has a strategic geographic location, therefore there is “serious” consideration to “revive” the old trade road which starts in the gulf and ends at the Mediterranean ports. The third component, Sheikh Nasser indicated, is the political stability and democracy which Kuwait enjoys, adding that the civil society in Kuwait produces each year several active institutions in decision making, which are all factors that encourage the foreign investor. “The fourth component is our natural and financial resources,” HH the Premier remarked, and that according to the majority of the scenarios, Kuwait will continue to produce oil even when the reserves of many oil countries finish. Kuwait’s Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shimali said at the First Kuwait Global Forum that Kuwait becoming a financial and trade center is considered the issue of the hour in Kuwait since HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah gave instructions for realising this goal.

In a speech addressed before the forum, which is held under the patronage of HH the Premier Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Minister indicated that the cabinet has formed a committee chaired by the Central Bank of Kuwait to carry out this mission and put the necessary recommendations. Kuwaits Minister of Commerce and Industry Falah Al-Hajri affirmed that Kuwait’s participation in the forum reflects the “importance” that Kuwait places on the events that highlight the “economic expansion” being witnessed in the country. In his speech he addressed concluding the ‘First Kuwait Global Forum’, which kicked-off here earlier today and is being held under the patronage of HH the Premier Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Al-Hajri said that Kuwait has “taken a great deal of interest in the gatherings which are enriched by the participation of an elite group of specialists and stakeholders, which aim to transfer modern ideas and state of the art technology to Kuwait.”

Meanwhile, the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso praised Kuwait for its important political and economic reforms and called for closer cooperation between the European Union and Kuwait. Addressing the 1st Kuwait Global Forum here this morning, Barroso said Kuwait had a “dynamic young economy” and urged European investors to invest in Kuwait. Within the Gulf area Kuwait has made important moves for political and economic reforms and has a healthy parliamentary system, he noted. “Reforms attract European business,” he said adding that Kuwait is an important player in the region. He said the EU and Kuwait share common views on regional issues like Palestine, Lebanon and Iran. Barroso called for developing a strategic relationship between the EU and the GCC with the specific contribution of Kuwait. He noted that the Gulf region is an important supplier of gas and oil to the EU and proposed dialogue to cooperate more closely. Barroso proposed development of energy projects between the EU and the Gulf region stressing that Kuwait will play an important role in this project.


@ http://www.arabtimesonline.com/kuwaitnews/pagesdetails.asp?nid=9573&ccid=9

SINGAPORE: Kuwait Finance House is pumping another S$818 million into Singapore real estate.

This time, it is buying 97 units in Goodwood Residence – a high-end residential development at Orchard Road.

This is the single largest purchase for a residential development still under construction.

Singapore-listed Guocoland is the developer behind Goodwood Residence.

The 97 apartments are of the four-bedroom type, ranging from 2,500 to 3,900 square feet each.

Altogether, Goodwood Residence will have 210 apartments. The project was conferred the Green Mark Award (Platinum) award earlier this year because of its green features.

Kuwait Finance House is a market leader in the Islamic banking industry in Kuwait.

In August, it paid S$286 million for 56 units in Keppel Land's waterfront development, Reflections at Keppel Bay.




@ http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/318088/1/.html

700 بليون دولار لخدمة متطلبات التحول
ناصر المحمد: الكويت مؤهلة كأفضل مركز مالي وبوابة للتجارة الدولية
47

بروكسل كونا: أكدت دولة الكويت انها مؤهلة لأن تكون مركزا ماليا وتجاريا وبوابة للتجارة الدولية في منطقة جنوب غرب آسيا وبين الشمال والجنوب، باعتبار ان القطاع الاستثماري في البلاد هو الأضمن في المنطقة والأكثر انضباطا من الناحية الرقابية. جاء ذلك في كلمة سمو رئيس مجلس الوزراء الشيخ ناصر محمد الأحمد الصباح امس امام «منتدى الكويت العالمي الأول» في العاصمة البلجيكية بروكسل والتي اكد فيها ان مقومات الكويت ترتكز في المقام الأول على الإنسان ثم الأرض والاستقرار السياسي والثروة الطبيعية والمالية. وقال سموه «لعلي لا أبالغ إذا قلت ان الكويتيين يملكون في داخلهم غريزة تجارية ولعل هذه الغريزة هي التي تدفع الكويت باستمرار لأن تكون أسبق من غيرها في المنطقة في تبني الأنظمة والهياكل والأساليب المالية والاقتصادية الحديثة كما أن هذه الغريزة هي التي أكسبت الكويتيين سجية التواصل بين الشعوب ونزعة الانفتاح على ثقافاتها وروح التسامح بينهم ومع غيرهم وهي التي كرست الميل للاستقرار واحترام القواعد المنظمة للعلاقات.. ويمكنني القول بثقة ان الإنسان الكويتي بخبرته العريقة وقيمه وسجاياه هو الثروة الحقيقية للكويت.. وهو الأساس الذي نبني رؤيتنا الاستراتيجية وفقه»، وأشار الى تخصيص 200 بليون دينار (نحو 700 بليون دولار) لخدمة متطلبات التحول الى مركز مالي واقتصادي دولي على أفضل مستوى.
من جهته، قال وزير المالية مصطفى الشمالي ان موضوع الساعة هو تحويل الكويت الى مركز مالي وتجاري بعد التعليمات السامية لسمو أمير دولة الكويت الشيخ صباح الأحمد الجابر الصباح الذي أمر بالعمل على هذه القضية واتخاذ كل الاجراءات الضرورية لذلك.
وقال الشمالي في كلمته امام المنتدى انه بناء على تعليمات سمو أمير دولة الكويت قام مجلس الوزراء بتشكيل لجنة برئاسة بنك الكويت المركزي للقيام بهذه المهمة ووضع التوصيات.
وأضاف انه تم في ابريل الماضي اختيار مؤسسة استشارية كلفت بالقيام بالدراسة اللازمة وأن الدراسة بينت أن البيئة المناسبة والمقومات الأساسية للتحول الى مركز مالي وتجاري متوافرة لدى دولة الكويت التي تتمتع باقتصاد حيوي وقطاع مالي ذي مزايا تنافسية الى جانب تمتعها بنظام مصرفي رقابي محكم.
وأوضح الوزير الشمالي أن اجمالي أصول القطاع المصرفي بلغ 93 بليون دولار في نهاية العام 2006 محققا نموا سنويا بمعدل 13 في المئة للسنوات الخمس الماضية وأن القطاع الاستثماري في الكويت يعتبر الأضمن في المنطقة والأكثر انضباطا من الناحية الرقابية.
وذكر الشمالي أنه على الرغم من هذه المقومات والمزايا التي تتمتع بها الكويت فان الدراسة أظهرت أن هناك منافسة كبيرة وأن على الكويت أن تعمل بشكل جاد وسريع لتحقيق أهدافها. وقال ان أهم ما ركزت عليه الدراسة في توصياتها هو تطوير السوق المالي المحلي ليصبح بمعايير دولية والعمل على تسويقه بين دول العالم مضيفا انه يجب اجراء التعديلات التشريعية اللازمة وتطوير الخدمات اللوجستية. وأضاف ان التوصيات دعت الى القيام بالعديد من المشاريع الخاصة بالبنية التحتية والمشاريع الأساسية وتطوير سوق المشتقات المالية. وسلّط الوزير الضوء على الخطوات التي قامت بها وستقوم بها الحكومة لانجاح توصيات الدراسة قائلا ان الحكومة تبنت سياسة الأجواء المفتوحة وتسهيل اجراءات تأشيرات الدخول الى الكويت.

Published: January 14 2008 09:31

It is not surprising that the Kuwait Investment Authority is set to become the latest fund to help out a wobbly investment bank. Rivalry between the Gulf states is healthy, to say the least, and Kuwait is considered the laggard. There are no gleaming race tracks as in Qatar, and Kuwait City’s shoreline lacks the residential palms of Dubai. Equally, management of the country’s financial assets has been playing catch-up for years.

In part, this is because Kuwait’s huge wealth of resources – compared with say, Dubai – reduced the urgency for financial development and economic diversification. Iraq’s 1990 invasion was also a setback. Until recently, asset allocation by the KIA was pretty much on the hoof, with little understanding of risk management. The process also remains very politicised, with frequent pestering by parliament.

That matters in relation to its potential investment in Merrill Lynch and Citigroup. The KIA has two main funds which have more than $400bn in assets in total. The smaller General Reserve Fund manages money from the national budget, mostly investing locally and regionally. The other is the Future Generations Fund which is structured as a broadly diversified portfolio. Most of this money is run by third-party fund managers, but the KIA does have its own asset management capability.

That arrangement makes sense. Less clear is why the KIA also has what it calls “core holdings” – big stakes in listed companies like BP, DaimlerChrysler and now perhaps two more – notwithstanding its luck with previous bets. The practice also jars with its wider investment process. For example, its externally managed US equity funds are likely to be underweight investment banks. And even if the FGF’s investment horizon is a hundred years, political careers are short. The KIA could come under immense pressure, perhaps even being forced to sell, should these high profile investments go wrong.

Financial Times (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1/6fae9d48-c283-11dc-801e-0000779fd2ac.html)

Kuwait stocks leapt to a fresh high, driven by sustained buying in select blue chips and middle level stocks. The market soared 100.10 points to 13,359.2 points — a record high, led by strong gains in Zain and National Industries Group. Both heavyweights surged 100 fils, the maximum permitted single day rise, while NBK rallied 60 fils on heavy trading. The day’s upswing was also driven by Global Investment House’s 7.02 percent jump following an announcement that it was planning to raise nearly $1 billion by selling its shares. The country’s leading investment bank also plans to start operations in Abu Dhabi. The index rose 0.75 percent to 13,359.2 points amid a steep increase in volume turnover. It had surged past the earlier high reached on Oct 21, 2007 on Monday.

Climbed
Notable among other gainers, Kuwait Finance House climbed 80 fils while. HSBC had said last week Kuwait’s stock market was the most attractive among the seven Gulf Arab bourses after the oil producer decided to scrap capital gains tax on foreign share investment. The index which has closed higher in the last six consecutive sessions, is up 6.81 percent this year. Sectoral indices all swung higher. Banking sector rose 0.8 percent paced by NBK and Kuwait Finance House. Investment sector too climbed 0.8 percent on back of Global Investment House and modest gains in some of the large caps. The two sectors constitutes the bulk of the shares traded in the bourse. Real estate advanced 05 percent while industrials jumped 1.5 percent propelled by National Industries and Kuwait Portland Cement. Services too rallied 1.2 percent on back of Zain and some of the middle level scrips.

In the bourse related news Dar Investment Co is planning a hike in capital at British carmaker Aston Martin, in which holds a 50 percent stake, a local newspaper reported. A group of firms including Al Abraj Holding Co and Agility had bought Kenyan company, Star Freight Logistics , a company official said. The group also is mulling to set up a new company to manage an energy project in the Philippines. Global Investment House said that it was in talks with a partner in the United Arab Emirates in connection with setting up an investment bank in Abu Dhabi as it expands outside of its home market. National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) to launch 10th Islamic Leasing Fund , a closed capital of between $25-35 million, in cooperation with Wafrah Global Investment Co.

The volume of shares surged 48 percent past 600 million mark, the first time this year. The market liquidity had been swelling since the start of the year after witnessing alarmingly low levels in the closing weeks of 2007. Banking stocks rose 46 percent led by Burgan Bank and NBK while investment sector surged by more than half of its previous level. Real estate rose 34 percent volumewise while industrials jumped 44 percent led by brisk turnover in National Industries Group. Services sector too swelled by nearly 50 percent led by Kuwait Privatization Projects Co and Nibras Holding Co. Kuwait Stock Exchange has decided to cancel the transactions made yesterday on Nibras Holding Co pending clarification sought by KSE administration regarding the financial statements. Nibras share was the third largest share rise in the bourse yesterday, trading over 1 million shares. KSE also announced the listing of Jazeera Airways shares in the Regular Market under the sector of services, starting Monday.

Expected
United Industries is expected to post earning of 130 fils per share for the year 2007, as against 35 fils per share in the previous year. International Leasing and Investment Co is expected to post earnings of 77 fils per share in 2007 and plans to pay a 50 percent cash dividend and bonus shares. Kuwait Finance and Investment Co is tipped to post a $30 million ($109.9 million) profit and an EPS (earning per share). The market opened on an upbeat note and climbed sharply in early trading driven by bullish sentiments. The index consolidated thereafter and moved sideways in a narrow range as investors toed the sidelines fearing a bout of profit taking. A spurt in buying towards the closing minutes helped push the market higher.

Kuwait Financial Center ( Markaz) in its latest research has said that 2008 is expected to be a positive year. The target index level is 16310, nearly 25 percent above the current level. The rise is based on robust earning forecast. The price to earning ratio (P/E) for Kuwait jumped from a modest 11.7 in 2006 to nearly 20 by the end of 2007, breaching its long term sustainable average of 18.3. The market spread was skewed heavily towards the winners. 73 stocks advanced while 40 closed lower. Of the 155 counters active on Tuesday, 42 closed flat. 14,709 deals worth KD 331.9 million were transacted — up 56 percent in value terms over previous session. The bourse, second largest in the region was 196 listed companies.


Top percentage gainer, Al Enmaa Real Estate Co (ERESCO) leapt 8.9 percent to KD 0.270 and Nibras Holding Co closed 8.8 percent to stand next. Kuwait Reinsurance Co dropped 7.3 percent, the steepest decliner of the session while Ektittab Holding Co topped the volume with over 36 million shares changing hands. Zain rallied 100 fils to end at KD 4.240 while Agility closed flat. Wataniya took in 20 fils while Kuwait Gulf Links rose 10 fils to KD 2.760. Sultan Center did not budge from its previous close of KD 0.475 while TWG was not traded during the session. NBK surged 60 fils on back of 10 million shares while KFH soared 80 fils to KD 3.200. Gulf Bank and Burgan Bank closed unchanged and CBK edged 20 fils up. National Industries surged 100 fils on a heavy trading volume.

IFA fell 10 fils to KD 0.920 while Global Investment House jumped 80 fils on back of 4.4 million shares. Noor Financial Investment Co took in 20 fils. The company announced last week that it has received an offer from a global bank to buy a stake in the company at a price determined by the investment company.

Elsewhere in the region,
markets closed higher. Saudi Al Tadawul All Stocks Index rallied 173.75 points after declining moderately in the previous session. Dubai Financial Market surged 2.98 percent , the biggest one-day gain in two months led by Dubai Islamic Bank. The bank’s rally was triggered by a Merrill Lynch report expecting the DIB ‘s net profit to grow by about 45 percent. Arabtec Holding spiked 14.57 percent to a record high. Abu Dhabi climbed 37.61 points paced by Aabar Petroleum Investment Co.

Dropped
Oil meanwhile dropped below $ 94 a barrel on Tuesday, weighed by concerns a recession in top consumer the United States would adversely hit the fuel demand. US crude dropped 58 cents to $93.62 a barrel after rising $1.51 on Monday. London Brent shed 55 cents at $92.37 a barrel. Prices have hovered in the $90-$100 range with declines limited by supply disruptions in OPEC producer Nigeria. US President George W Bush said he would raise the issue of very high oil prices and their negative impact on the US economy when he meets king of Saudi Arabia, the leading OPEC producer on Tuesday. OPEC, which supplies more than one-third of the world’s oil, has repeatedly said that it was pumping enough crude and high prices were beyond its control.

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/kuwaitnews/pagesdetails.asp?nid=10940&ccid=12


$42bn in surplus
Kuwait posted KD 11.66 billion ($42.7 billion) of revenue in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, well above budget estimates, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. The figure is 140 percent more than projected revenues for the whole 2007-2008 fiscal year of KD 8.3 billion ($30.4 billion) which was based on an ultra-conservative oil price of $36 a barrel. Spending is projected at $11.3 billion ($41.4 billion). However, actual figures for up to the end of November posted on the ministry’s website show that Kuwait, Opec’s fourth largest oil producer, has achieved a surplus of KD 7.43 billion ($27.2 billion). Oil income was KD 10.94 billion ($40.1 billion), accounting for about 94 percent of total revenues, the figures show. Kuwait’s fiscal year extends between April 1 and March 31.

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) forecast in an economic report this week that the Kuwait could end up the year posting record revenues and surplus as well. NBK estimated that revenues could exceed KD 19 billion (about $70 billion) while actual spending will be five to 10 percent lower than projections, thus resulting in a record surplus of $33 billion. It based its estimate on an average price for Kuwaiti oil at $74 a barrel, more than double the budget price. The largest surplus boasted by Kuwait was $24 billion in the 2005/2006 fiscal year. This year would be Kuwait’s ninth straight year of budget windfalls because of strong oil prices. During the previous eight fiscal years it posted surpluses totalling around $72.5 billion. As of last March 31, the emirate said it had $213 billion of assets in two funds invested in huge foreign holdings. Kuwait, which holds about 10 percent of global crude reserves, pumps around 2.5 million barrels a day.

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/client/pagesdetails.asp?nid=10901&ccid=9

Analysts are tipping the real estate sector for strong growth as recent local and regional legislation create favourable conditions in the domestic housing market and spur the national economy.

According to a report conducted by Faraj Al Khudhari, head of Al Mutakhassis Real Estate, four main factors will contribute to a property boom in Kuwait in 2008 - plans to broaden the property market through the creation of affordable new housing, tax breaks for foreign companies, plans for a comprehensive rail and metro system, and the formation of a GCC common market.

The release of land by the Kuwait Petroleum Company for the building of 16,000 new low-cost housing units should introduce a host of new buyers to the property market and in turn stimulate continued capital growth, Faraj Al Khudhari predicted.

The real estate market is expected to be further fuelled by an influx of foreign capital , following a recent decision to cut corporate tax on foreign companies from 55 to 15% - a move that prompted HSBC Holdings to say this month that Kuwaiti shares now offered the best value in the GCC. The move was part of a raft of recent government initiatives designed to woo international business.

A third factor, according to the Al Mutakhassis report, is the government plan for a 400km rail link and an underground metro system, which if approved by the National Assembly, will be worth $14bn. The plans under discussion include two new lines to the Saudi Arabian and Iraqi borders, as well as a mass transit system for Kuwait City. The ministry for public works has previously said that such a development was essential to both link up ports, borders and cities and ease daily congestion for commuters. It would be bound to have a positive effect on house prices, particularly in affected urban areas. A ministry committee is already in discussion with a European firm.
The fourth catalyst is the founding, on January 1, of the long-awaited GCC common market. First proposed 27 years ago when the GCC was formed, its establishment is intended to allow free movement of people and capital. Kuwaiti economist Hajjaj Bukhbur said it will strengthen the GCC's position as a major global financial power while Issam Fakhrou, president of Bahrain's chamber of commerce and industry, commented that the common market would increase trade between member states from its present level of 10% of total foreign trade to 25% by 2010.

Among the common market goals is monetary union, scheduled for 2010. True, some analysts feel this may not be attainable with current high inflation across the region and the continuing fall in the US dollar, to which all member states - except Kuwait - are pegged. Nevertheless, the opening of markets to foreign investment seems to have gained powerful momentum. There will also be a growing harmonisation of regulations, such as those governing labour laws and social security entitlements, in both public and private sectors.

As a result, a boost in consumer confidence, purchasing power and the national economy should drive the sector as a whole, said Al Khudhari.

This confidence in the housing market stands in contrast to sentiment expressed elsewhere across the Gulf region, at least in some quarters. There is a feeling among some Gulf residents that prices, which have risen dramatically in recent times, may be close to peaking. In a regional survey released last week, 43% of respondents across the GCC said they would be cautious about buying at the moment due to uncertain market conditions, and would continue to rent, despite rising rental costs.

However, these fears seem less of a concern in Kuwait itself. Indeed, the report also commented that the undersupply that has inflated property prices in some Gulf states was less of an issue in Kuwait. Growing private and government investment should keep the market buoyant, as should record liquidity and continuing global economic uncertainty - with some foreign investors being drawn to what is viewed as the relative safety of the Kuwaiti market.

Should these predictions prove correct, the boom will be building on a successful year in 2007. National Bank of Kuwait figures for the 11 months to December showed that, compared with the same period for 2006, average real estate sales grew by 31%in number and 59% in value.

@http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093182259

Merrill Lynch, one of the world’s leading financial management and advisory companies providing financial advice and investment banking services, said the Gulf is well insulated from a global slowdown, with the accumulation of foreign assets acting as a cushion against lower oil prices.


The report, called “The bargains in the bazaar – remain bullish for 2008,” said the investment plans of the GCC economies are sustainable at an oil price of $40 per barrel to $50 per barrel, the estimated break-even oil price for budget expenditure.

“A moderation of oil prices in the near term, in our view, will dampen investor sentiment but is unlikely to disrupt real economic growth,” the report said.Merrill Lynch is particularly positive on stocks with exposure to infrastructure, real estate and capital market development across the region.

The region is not completely immune from a slowdown in the United States, particularly due to the impact of falling oil prices. Oil is still expected to constitute the bulk of fiscal revenues across the GCC in the absence of taxation. However, the real economy and region’s investment pipeline is unlikely to be disrupted as long as oil prices stay above the breakeven level of $40 per barrel to $50 per barrel.

Oil ‘windfalls’ above these levels flow to central banks and sovereign funds, with limited impact on real economic growth.Moreover, the accumulations of foreign assets during the current oil boom have provided governments with an alternative revenue source and a cushion against non-oil fiscal deficits.

Nevertheless, a softening of oil prices is likely to slowdown nominal GDP [and money supply] growth and negatively impact investor sentiment. Falling interest rates in an inflationary environment is supportive of continued inflows into capital and real estate markets.

Contrary to previous oil booms, GCC governments have been relatively prudent on spending. GCC countries have built up cumulative current account surplus of about $739bn over the past five years.
The region is awash with cash – private wealth assets in the region are estimated between $1.2 trillion to $1.5trn,
and the GCC’s current account surplus in 2006 alone was a quarter of the US deficit.

“We do not expect a significant reversal to oil prices in the short term and believe fiscal spending is likely to gain pace as mega investment projects are launched across the region,” it said.

Growth is also becoming less of an oil story.While the contribution of the non-hydrocarbon sector to incremental GDP growth was 49 per cent back in 2003, it increased to 85 per cent in 2006.

Investment boom

More than $1.6trn in the region is earmarked for mega-projects and infrastructure spending and the IMF is forecasting that $800bn will be spent in the next five years, with more than 75 per cent in non-hydrocarbon sectors.

Governments across the region have cemented a political commitment towards long-term economic diversification programmes, targeting the services (trade, tourism,
transportation) as well as downstream petrochemical sectors.

Moreover, there is a need to reverse years of chronic under-investment in civil infrastructure such as water, power, utilities, education and healthcare – these translate into huge private sector opportunities.

Favourable demographics

The GCC is experiencing strong population and labour force growth and an influx of expatriate population. The World Bank is projecting population in the GCC will grow 2.4 per cent a year between 2005 and 2010 and two per cent from 2010 to 2020 (although the likes of Qatar and UAE are witnessing growth rates of six per cent and 4.5 per cent due to expatriate immigration).

The UAE, particularly Dubai, has been a trendsetter in reforms and infrastructure spending and enjoys the advantage of being the one to shape things. Other countries in the GCC have been following Dubai’s example: foreign ownership of real estate, building up of tourism and transportation infrastructure, etc.

Abu Dhabi has started to spearhead its own ‘mega-projects’, with planned non-hydrocarbon investments of about $50bn in 2007 to 2012. Moreover, with accumulated sovereign wealth assets of $500bn to $750bn, Abu Dhabi has the financial capacity to weather medium-term oil price ‘shocks’.

Qatar is the rising star of the region. With a GDP/ per capita of about $65,000, Qatar is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, expected to grow at a blistering 14.8 per cent in 2008.Qatar possesses the third largest gas reserves in the world after Russia and Iran – and is the largest exporter of LNG globally. LNG exports are expected to triple from 2007 to 2012, which in turn supports the government’s $70bn infrastructure spending pipeline from 2007 to 2012.

“We also see strong near-term momentum in Kuwait, which has recorded an average annual GDP growth of 9.3 per cent in 2003 and 2007 and has the region’s largest current account balance (33 per cent of GDP in 2008). Recent changes to the capital gains tax regime, in our view, will continue to drive a re-rating.

“Kuwait, however, remains the most oil dependent economy in the Gulf and has been relatively slow to channel petrodollars into diversification plans.”

Equity markets

Equity markets in Middle East and Africa (Mena) have had a volatile start to the year. The region’s capital markets have not been completely invulnerable to the global “margin call” and risk aversion.

Nevertheless, they have outperformed other emerging and developed markets – a trend that is expected to continue in 2008, the report said.

Dubai and Egypt, which are most exposed to foreign institutional investors, have been most affected by global de-leveraging.
Ironically, Saudi Arabia, which is closed to foreign investors, saw the largest decline year to date due to earnings disappointments and weakening investor sentiment.


The positive impact of Kuwait’s capital market reforms, and expected resolution of the capital gains liability constraint has prompted a broad re-rating of the market. Aside from global recessionary fears, volatility in the Gulf markets has been driven by the earnings and dividends season, which is now drawing to a close.

On the re-rating of Gulf markets, Merrill said: “GCC markets have recovered relatively quickly and broadly from the 2006 crash.Valuations have fallen from a peak 42x, trailing PE premium to approximately in line with Gulf and emerging markets.

“We expect the Gulf to trade at premium to other emerging markets given healthy macroeconomic growth; low-risk premiums; and abundant capital and solid current account positions relative to other fast-growing frontier markets. Our global EM (emerging market) strategist, Michael Hartnett has picked the Gulf markets as his top frontier recommendation, on the basis of massive oil surpluses, excess liquidity, and attractive valuations.”

The report, however, is cautious on commercial banks. “We turn more cautious on commercial banks – unless a substantial revaluation of GCC currencies takes place, margin compression is likely to create earning risks for 2008 to 2009. Although banks will continue to benefit from strong loan growth and fee generation (as well as positive trends in real estate markets), the competition for deposit funding is expected to intensify.

“Nevertheless, we think Islamic banks, such as Dubai Islamic Bank, are well positioned in this environment due to greater pricing power, lower interest rate sensitivity and secular growth arising from capital markets (Sukuks) and retail product innovation.

“Banks with greater revenue contributions from non-spread businesses are also more sheltered from the top-line impact of margin compression.”

The numbers

$739bn: The current cumulative account built up by the GCC

$1.2trn: The estimated private wealth assets in the region

85%: The contribution of non-hydrocarbon sector to GDP growth in 2006




@ http://www.business24-7.ae/cs/article_show_mainh1_story.aspx?HeadlineID=3520

Kuwait on Tuesday announced that its revenue collection has reached a staggering $63.6 billion until February this fiscal.

This is the highest revenues ever boasted by Kuwait, which sits on about 10 per cent of global crude reserves and pumps 2.5 million barrels per day, thanks to rocketing oil prices.

According to a statement by Kuwait s finance ministry, revenue for the period to the end of February compares with projected income for all of 07/08 of about $31 billion and is 18.2 per cent up on the same period of the previous fiscal year.

Oil revenues jumped 17.6 per cent to about $60 billion over the 11 months.

The figures reflect a sharp rise in the price of oil, which contributes around 94 per cent of total revenue in Kuwait, OPEC s fourth largest producer.

Kuwait has adopted a conservative price of $36 a barrel in calculating oil revenues but the price of Kuwaiti oil on Monday touched a record high of $98.85 a barrel.

His Highness the Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said Sunday, march 16, that his government was keen on modernizing Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) and making it highly attractive. “It goes without saying that the Kuwaiti experiment in the field of stock exchange is a leading one in the Arabian Gulf area by all rates,” Sheikh Nasser said. The remarks were made in an address read on his behalf by Minister of Commerce and Industry Falah Al-Hajri at the opening ceremony of the second conference titled “ “Promotion of Kuwait Capital Market — KCMA Project.” “The stock market in Kuwait passed through several stages of development and emerged successful in most of them. It reached a satisfactory level of maturity. “The government is always keen on updating the bourse and turning it into a most attractive one for regional and international investors.

“The KSE administration kept developing strategic plans as part of the modernization process with a view to guaranteeing the highest possible level of protection for investors. “The decision to launch a world-class capital market authority is in line with the effort to keep up with the latest technological achievements worldwide,” according to Sheikh Nasser’s speech. “The planned Kuwait Capital Market Authority (KCMA) is a major part of our national goal to turn Kuwait into a regional and international financial and commercial hub,” he underscored. “Kuwait people and government are keen on translating into action the desire of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to achieve such strategic goal. “We are making exceptional efforts to modernize the capital market and the banking sector in order to turn Kuwait into the most favorable destination of regional and global investments,” he added.

Board chairman of Expert Center for Training and Consulting Abdul-Aziz Al-Du’aij and Chairman of Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ali Mohammad Thanyan, KSE Director General Saleh Mubarak Al-Falah and Chairman of the Organizing Committee Ayman Abdullah Boody addressed the opening ceremony of the conference.

In his address, Chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Economic and Financial Affairs Ahmed Baqer urged acceleration of legislations of economic reform especially those related to the capital market. The National Assembly Committee on Economic and Financial Affairs spotted defects and loopholes in the stock market and the performance of some financial brokerage companies, Baqer disclosed, urging for controls and correction of these loopholes to protect the rights of minority stakeholders. For his part, former minister of finance Bader Al-Humaidhi said Kuwait was at a crossroads to “change the philosophy of economic administration and turn the state into the sole sponsor of economic activity. The process of economic transform is an integrated process involving the political, legislative, economic and financial decisions.”

Board Chairman and Managing Director of Kuwait Investment Co Bader Al-Subei’e highlighted the importance of the stock market role in economic development and deemed it “a mainstay for turning Kuwait into a regional financial hub.” The Kuwaiti stock market, though active, is still lagging behind other regional markets, he regretted. The planned KCMA could revive the economy and solve any disputes among Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE), its commission and the group of 61 companies, Al-Subei’e believes. The International Investor (TII) Board Chairman Adnan Al-Bahr said Kuwait needed to have more than one bourse and develop state-run mechanisms for legislation, arbitration and administration of the stock market. “Such mechanisms should have world-renowned experts and work together with concerned other state bodies,” he suggested.

i just dont believe anyone anymore :(

Kuwait's vision to become financial hub receives backing from Kuwait-based AlRaya Investment

Kuwait's ambitions to become a leading financial centre in the Middle East have received a major endorsement from global financial giant Citigroup and Kuwait-based AlRaya Investment.


The vote of confidence comes following a personal meeting with HH The Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al Sabah and Citigroup's global Chairman Sir Winfried Bischoff and AlRaya Investment Company Chairman Sheikh Sabah Nasser Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah and Vice Chairman and CEO Mr. Hazem Al-Braikan.

Citigroup and AlRaya have established a business partnership in Kuwait, with the US financial powerhouse taking a 10% stake in AlRaya Investment Company.

AlRaya Investment Chairman Sheikh Sabah Nasser Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah said 'This has been an important visit and we are very proud to have hosted Citigroup Chairman Sir Winfried Bischoff and discuss ways to further develop and enhance our business partnership.

'The decision by Citigroup to invest in Kuwait demonstrates the growing regional and global confidence in Kuwait as it seeks to achieve the ambition of HH The Emir Sheik Sabah Al-Ahmad Al Sabah to encourage the growth of Kuwait as major financial hub in the GCC and at a regional and international level.'

Kuwaitis are among the most sophisticated international investors in markets around the world and the Kuwait Stock Exchange has proved to be one of the most consistent performers in the region - further enhancing the case for Kuwait to become a more significant financial hub.

AlRaya Investment Vice Chairman and CEO, Mr. Hazem Al-Braikan added: 'At AlRaya Investment we are committed to helping the vision of HH The Emir of Kuwait to become a reality and plan to take a leading role in the economic and financial success of our country in the future.

'We are especially focused on Islamic financing instruments and are confident we can tap into the growing awareness of Islamic finance around the world and increasingly tap into the world's largest asset class of Global Equity.'

AME Info (http://http://www.ameinfo.com/161468.html)

In a move aimed at achieving greater financial reform and encouraging investments, the Finance Ministry announced Sunday 13th july, the new guidelines for the Taxation Law, including the elements required for placing any new tax law.

In a statement, the ministry said that the new guidelines were much needed, especially as the law had been placed more than 50 years ago "and is no longer consistent with the economic circumstances and developments."

It hoped that this move would encourage local and foreign investments within a clear and effective taxation framework, noting that it was placed by experts that took into account the views of the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the Central Bank of Kuwait, and Kuwait Stock Exchange.

Moreover, the statement said the new guidelines were reviewed by the Fatwa and Legislations Department, which reviewed the legal wording.

The amendments made to the guidelines include the tax base and taxation auditing, those exempted from taxation, and regulations for bringing forward losses and limitations.

The guidelines included 12 chapters, the first on the sources of income to which taxation applied, while the second stated that tax exemption included profits made by trading at Kuwait Stock Exchange directly, or indirectly through portfolios and investment funds -- a move that will attract investments and activate the market.

As for the third chapter, it stated the reduction of taxation from 55 to 15 percent, also targeting foreign investments, and the fourth chapter noted that tax was imposed on income made in the year falling under the former tax system.

Meanwhile, the fifth chapter required that each institute apply for a tax card in order to avoid tax evasion, and to present tax statements, while the sixth and seventh chapters noted the procedures for tax imposition and its timings, as well as steps taken in the case of contestations.

Chapter eight included the guarantees of tax collection and protecting the rights of the state treasury, while the ninth chapter dealt with fines, and the tenth with the importance of protecting state funds.

In chapter eleven, the important articles introduced to the law were stated, including regulations for limitations, while the final chapter dealt with cooperation and negotiation principles between tax payers and the tax administration in the case of contestation.

- Zawya (http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidKUN0025080713111528)

Kuwait Triples Investment in Japan, Highlighting Sovereign Wealth Flight From U.S. Assets ($48 billion)



The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the oil-rich nation’s sovereign wealth fund, is planning to triple its investment in Japan to $48 billion, highlighting a global investment shift away from U.S. assets.

The Kuwait sovereign wealth fund already has $15 billion to $16 billion invested in Japan, but Kuna, the nation’s state news agency, quoted Finance Minister Mustapha al-Shamali, as saying that the “KIA has an intention to double or triple its investment in the Japanese market.”

That investment boost would follow Japan’s recent agreement with Kuwait to reduce - or end - double taxation on interest, dividends, and capital gains. Japan has similar agreements with about 60 countries, but the deal with Kuwait is the Asian nation’s first with a Middle-Eastern state, according to the Financial Times.

KIA is currently invested in Japanese stocks and bonds, Shamali said, but is looking to expand into the nation’s real estate sector - and may also delve deeper into Japan’s stock market.

As Money Morning has been reporting for some time, Japan is becoming an increasingly alluring investment alternative to the United States - especially because of its growing involvement with China - a reality that global investors are beginning to grasp themselves. But Japan’s growing profit potential isn’t the only reason the KIA is engineering this shift.

An increased level of investment in Japan is part of Kuwait’s plan to diversify away from American assets. The country removed its currency peg to the U.S. dollar in May 2007, and the KIA has been dissatisfied by its investments in Citigroup Inc. (C) and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (MER). Over the past two years, the KIA has raised the portion of money allocated to Asian investments from 10% to 20%. The fund controlled approximately $270 billion at the end of March.

Kuwait is just one of many Middle Eastern states to benefit from the tidal swell of capital that’s been washed through the region, following the pull of record oil prices. And yet, increasingly cognizant that their oil money will dry up one day, Middle East nations are diversifying their investments for that future time. That’s one reason Dubai is repositioning itself as a gateway point for global trade and tourism, and is constructing the world’s largest airport, a project that’s creating profit plays for investors throughout the world. This realistic view of the future is also the reason that Gulf Arab states and companies spent about $60 billion on foreign assets in 2007, almost double the previous two years combined, according to Reuters.

However, foreign investment that has traditionally been earmarked for the United States is now pouring into developing markets with more growth potential.

Last month, the Financial Times reported that a large, unnamed Gulf fund had cut its dollar-denominated holdings from more than 80% a year ago to less than 60%.

Earlier this year, Qatar Investment Authority bought a 27% stake in Dragon Capital, a Vietnamese property fund. And in February, it bought a 15% stake in an Indian office development being built at the Bandra Kurla complex in Mumbai.

The fund has $60 billion in assets and more emerging market real estate investments are in the works.

"We are focusing on prime cities in India, China, Singapore, Korea, Vietnam and Malaysia, cities around the world where there is strong [gross domestic product] growth and fundamental unmet demand for high quality real estate," Navid Chamdia, head of real estate at Qatar Investment, told Bloomberg at a sovereign-wealth funds conference in Abu Dhabi. "About 40% of our real-estate investments will be in Asia."

Even China - which has strong investment ties with the United States - is diversifying away from the U.S. market. For instance, China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has been actively seeking deals with private equity firms in Europe as part of a specific strategy to reduce its dollar-denominated holdings. A shift in policy at China’s SAFE is particularly significant because it holds the vast majority of China’s $1.68 trillion of foreign currency reserves in dollar-denominated assets.

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticle+articleid_2481911&title=Kuwait_Triples.html

Kuwait confirms halal investment in South; Kuwaiti-Thai MOU signed


BANGKOK, Aug 14 (TNA) - Kuwait affirmed its interest in launching the halal food industry in Thailand's southernmost region and also pledged to provide jobs for some 3,000 more workers from this country to be employed in the Middle East state.

Halal is a system of dietarily appropriate foods scientifically prepared according to strict exclusion of some animal fats and other elements which should be prepared under Muslim religious supervision.

The Kuwaiti authorities expressed those interests during an official visit to Thailand by Kuwaiti prime minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah who held talks with his Thai counterpart Samak Sundaravej at Government House.

The Kuwaiti prime minister is on a two-day official visit which ends today.

Deputy government spokeswoman Supharat Nakbunnam said Kuwait intended to open the halal food processing industry in Thailand's southernmost region in which local residents will be hired and halal foods will be exported to the Middle East state.

Besides, the Kuwaiti authorities will see to it that some 3,000 Thai workers will be hired in the sultanate in addition to about 3,000 others currently employed there.

Given the fact that about 20,000 Kuwaiti tourists visit Thailand yearly, the sultanate is also interested in Thai spa services and pledged to consider increasing scholarships for Thai Muslim students to advance their studies in Kuwait.

Mr. Samak and his Kuwaiti counterpart witnessed the signing of the Agreement on Economic and Technical Co-operation between Thailand and Kuwait and the Memorandum of Understanding on Conducting Bilateral Consultations between Ministries of Foreign Affairs. (TNA)


http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5487/87759571ho0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Spurred by the rising price of oil and a buoyant banking sector, Kuwait's economy continues to expand at a terrific pace. Arabian Business profiles three of the desert state's key growth sectors.

Banking on success

The fourth-largest OPEC oil producer has become one of the world's most vibrant economies, and at its heart lies the banking sector, where the stock of Kuwait's major players has risen almost as fast as the price of oil.

Credit ratings agency Moody's describes Kuwait as 'having one of the most robust banking sectors in the GCC region'.According to the Oxford Business Group, the country's banking profitability reached record levels in 2007 with profit growth averaging 30 percent per year between 2004 and 2006.

The strong position of the sector is also reflected in its share of the Kuwait Stock Exchange. The total market capitalisation of banking firms has averaged 32 percent growth over the past five years and finished 2007 with a 35 percent share, according to the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the Gulf state's biggest lender by market value.

Credit ratings agency Moody's describes Kuwait as having "one of the most robust banking sectors in the GCC region, benefiting from the country's outstanding economic performance in recent years, as well as fairly effective banking supervision." Its strong position is secured by the "backbone" of the financial sector, the Central Bank of Kuwait, established back in 1968.

"The Kuwaiti banking sector has a robust system in terms of risk management and a regulatory authority which is keeping a very vigilant eye over the industry's activity," agrees Naveed Ahmed, financial analyst at Global Investment House in Kuwait.

With just 14 banks, nine of which are publicly listed, the industry has a great deal of potential to grow, particularly abroad. "There is a lot of room for growth as there are very few competitors at the moment," says Ahmed.

"The banking sector is doing quite well but a lot of it is on the back of operations outside of Kuwait," agrees Laura James, Kuwait analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in London. "That should change in the future."

Islamic bank Kuwait Finance House (KHF) and NBK are the country's two largest financial institutions and are both 100 percent Kuwaiti-owned. Together they account for more than half of the banking sector's capitalisation on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.


Both banks' second quarter results showed positive growth - NBK posted a 16 percent rise in Q2 profits, while KFH reported Q2 profit advanced 29 percent.

Fuelled by increasing demand for Islamic services the country's Islamic banking sector is enjoying tremendous growth, and now represents 25 percent of the total bank assets in the country.

Keen to tap into the world's growing Islamic banking sector, NBK plans to generate as much as 50 percent of its profit from overseas operations by 2015, compared to 25 percent today.

Kuwait is currently Wataniya's biggest market and the company's growth will come from expanding outside of the GCC.It currently has branches in most regional financial centres including London, New York and Singapore, and aims to start an Islamic bank in Switzerland - in partnership with a Saudi company - to offer an offshore haven for wealthy Muslims.

While KFH is the country's largest Islamic finance institution, other smaller banks such as Boubyan Bank and Kuwait International Bank are also faring well against the larger competition.

Boubyan Bank, an affiliate of Sharia-compliant investment firm Investment Dar, posted a 40.2 percent rise in Q2 net profit in July, while the smallest publicly traded commercial lender in Kuwait, Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East, announced in June it had received approval from the central bank to convert into an Islamic institution.

Despite the sector's obvious growth potential, however Ahmed does warn that the central bank's curbing of consumer loans - in a bid to rein in near-record inflation - could also impact the banks' potential to lend to expatriates.

Upwardly mobile

Fuelled by rising mobile penetration rates and expansion abroad, Kuwait's mobile segment is as highly regarded as its banking sector - and is considered by some to be one of the world's strongest and most advanced telecoms markets.

The country enjoys high mobile penetration rates, which currently stand at 90 percent and are expected to reach 100 percent by the end of this year.

Kuwait currently has two mobile operators, Zain and National Mobile Telecommunications Company (Wataniya), a unit of Qatar Telecommunications Company.

Wataniya is the smaller of the two operators but last month posted a 39.3 percent rise in subscribers to 10.37 million, which boosted its revenues by 19.7 percent to $858.7m in the first half of the year.

"Kuwait is currently Wataniya's biggest market and the company's growth will come from expanding outside of the GCC. Going forward, they'll have to look out for acquisitions or bidding for new licences abroad," says Chandresh Bhatt, vice president of research at Global Investment House.

The country's largest operator and the third-largest Arab telecoms company, Zain, is already enjoying success abroad - particularly in Africa where it is already active in 14 countries.

"Zain has a mixed portfolio in Africa, where some of the countries are not doing well, but others are making profit," notes Bhatt at GIH.

Last week the company started selling shares in the Gulf's biggest capital hike this year. The mobile operator hopes to raise as much as $4.45bn to help fund expansion across Africa and the Middle East.

The company has outlined plans to expand into Saudi Arabia and in June said it would probably apply for a mobile operator licence in South Africa, if the government offers a licence there.

While analysts agree that expansion outside Kuwait's home market is essential, opinion remains divided as to how the introduction of a third mobile operator at the end of the year will affect the existing two telcos.

"Both companies have enjoyed great success so far and we are positive for 2008, but from the beginning of 2009 onwards there will be pressure on both following the introduction of the third operator," suggests Bhatt.

"I don't think they will necessarily suffer," says James at EIU. "It is a fairly saturated market already and to some extent they seem to be looking into value-added [products] with people getting new phones in addition to existing ones."

"People have the money to do that so it may not affect the operation of the existing firms that much, at least in the short term," she adds.

The new telco will be part public and part private. Once launched, the government will retain a 24 percent stake in the new firm while another 26 percent will be owned by Saudi Telecom.

Meanwhile, reports in last week's papers suggested that the IPO of the remaining 50 percent of the third operator will commence on Sunday August 24.

Industrial strength

Keen to reduce its reliance on oil, which currently accounts for more than 90 percent of the country's total revenue, the Kuwaiti government is slowly making progress in the development of its industrial sector.

Currently, when not including refineries, the industrial sector represents just 3.2 percent of GDP, according to the Oxford Business Group. In a bid to stimulate growth the government set up the Public Authority for Industry, and the Industrial Bank of Kuwait.

Established in 1973 the Industrial Bank of Kuwait is a specialised bank dedicated to supporting industry in Kuwait by financing loans to projects that were unable to negotiate terms with commercial banks in the agriculture and industry sectors.

The National Industries Group Holding, an affiliate of family-owned Kharafi Group, is currently one of the Middle East's largest manufacturers.

The firm is diversifying away from its core construction materials business by investing in petrochemicals, engineering and metal industries projects. The company has invested almost $1bn in stainless steel and petrochemicals projects and is eying several projects in the Middle East.

The country is also keen to push its petrochemical industry. State-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp, which in July posted a 74 percent increase in first quarter profits compared to the same period last year, is investing in a series of ventures abroad.

Projects include an $11bn joint plastics venture with Dow Chemical Co in Michigan, and a planned refinery in Southern China with Sinopec Corporation.

Kuwait's expansion of its industrial sector is however, hampered by the country's lack of appropriate land on which to develop industrial plants and expand existing sites - a problem the state aims to rectify with a series of projects scheduled for construction.

"There is a big land issue for the local industrial sector and also for other sectors," says James. "Much of the land is owned by the government and any attempt to sell it off or even in build, operate and transfer deals attracts huge attention in parliament".


-Arabian business (http://www.arabianbusiness.com/528456-desert-dreams)

The UAE, Qatar and Kuwait are among the world's top five countries, which enjoy the highest concentration of millionaire population in the world, a new study claims.

The Boston Consulting Group's report, 'A Wealth of Opportunities in Turbulent Times' says the wealth management opportunity in the Middle East is mainly concentrated in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Dubai and Singapore are becoming regional private banking centres offering greater competition to traditional havens such as Switzerland; offering little choice to banks, brokerages and money managers, but to expand their presence in these fast growing centres, the report said.

The total GCC market had an estimated $1.5 trillion in Assets under Management (AuM).
The average AuM of a wealthy household was an estimated $1 million in the region. It is well above the global average of about USD 400,000 for wealthy households.

The region shows signs of continued economic growth and diversification and GCC Government have upheld their efforts to expand economies beyond oil.

The Boston Consulting Group report said Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Latin America were the smallest wealth markets with AuM of $3.4 trillion and $3.1 trillion respectively. In the Middle East and Africa, nearly 28 per cent of wealth were held offshore.

The report found that personal wealth around the world grew five per cent to $109.5 trillion, expanding consecutively for the sixth year. Personal wealth is also increasingly concentrated among the richest, the report found.

The top one per cent of all households owned 35 per cent of the world's wealth last year.

- NDTV arabia (http://arabia.ndtv.com/Story.aspx?pageheader=news&sub_category=&ID=NEWEN20080064425)

you can read the original report here
www.galiciae.com/arquivo/29092

Kuwait preparing $140 billion plan

Kuwait is preparing a five-year plan worth 35 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($130.9bn) which aims to develop the financial sector and lure more foreign investment, it was reported yesterday.

The Opec producer wants to diversify its economy away from oil by becoming a regional financial centre and attracting tourists as nearby Dubai and Bahrain have done, according to the state's 2009-2014 policy strategy plan in April.

The plan would cost a total of 35bn dinars to fund projects and train administration staff, Minister of State for Housing and Development Moudhi Al Humud told the Kuna news agency after a cabinet meeting.

The draft law for the plan will be sent to parliament before it reconvenes next month, she added.

Under the plan, prepared by the country's top planning council, Kuwait aims to boost its non-oil economy, which currently accounts for less than 10 per cent of state revenues, by launching several big projects and improving the GCC state's infrastructure.

It also seeks to ease land ownership rules and give the private sector more access to land, and control spending as inflation rises.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=229409&Sn=BUSI&IssueID=31184

Kuwait is preparing a five-year plan worth $130.9 billion which aims to develop the financial sector and lure more foreign investment, state news agency KUNA said.

The OPEC producer wants to diversify its economy away from oil by becoming a regional financial centre and attracting tourists as nearby Dubai and Bahrain have done, according to the state's 2009-2014 policy strategy plan obtained by Reuters in April.

The plan would cost a total of 35 billion dinars to fund projects and train administration staff, Moudhi Al-Humud, the minister of state for housing and development, told KUNA late on Thursday after a cabinet meeting.

The draft law for the plan will be sent to parliament before it reconvenes in October, she added.

Under the plan, prepared by the country's top planning council, Kuwait aims to boost its non-oil economy, which currently accounts for less than 10 percent of state revenues, by launching several big projects and improving the Gulf Arab state's infrastructure.

It also seeks to ease land ownership rules and give the private sector more access to land, and control spending as inflation rises. More than 90 percent of land in Kuwait is owned by the government. (Reuters)

Sources
ArabianBusiness.com (http://www.arabianbusiness.com/531599-kuwait-plans-130bn-financial-sector-expansion?ln=en)

The good news is that Kuwait has decided to return to the traditional practice of developing five-year plans. The last plan dates back to 1986, which was interrupted following the Iraqi invasion in August 1990. The authorities hope to commence the plan in April 2009 marking the start of fiscal year. Kuwait's fiscal year runs from April to March.

The trouble is that the plan seems to be over-ambitious, taking into account its seven broad objectives. These are expanding value of gross domestic product (GDP), diversifying sources of national income, providing a sufficient room for the private sector to play a leading role in the economy, creating the means to help private sector firms generating job opportunities, boosting technology and research, upgrading bureaucracy and laying a firm foundation for a prosperous society.

Clearly, the scheme envisages private sector firms assuming a primary role in the economy. For its part, the government likes to play a supportive role through provision of an efficient bureaucracy besides putting in place a modern infrastructure. This arrangement should help Kuwait placing its economy on the most logical path, namely that of government being supportive to investors rather than itself being the investor.

Kuwait' treasury is uniquely dependent on the hydrocarbons sector, which accounted for 92 per cent of actual budgetary revenues in 2007-08. To be sure, fellow Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) members - Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain - are less dependent on oil compared to Kuwait. The petroleum industry contributes about 80 per cent of Bahrain's treasury income. Undoubtedly, the extraordinary reliance on the petroleum industry places Kuwait's economy at the mercy of developments in global oil markets. Clearly, the argument of diversifying the economy away from oil is a logical one.

Options

One such primary strategic goal of the proposed five-year plan calls for turning Kuwait into a regional base for financial services. In fact, the authorities are thinking big by virtue of committing a hefty $131 billion (Dh481.8 billion) for the project. The amount covers developing the infrastructure including training the required personnel.

The new move would put Kuwait into direct competition with Dubai, Bahrain, Doha and Riyadh in vying for regional supremacy in financial services. More superficially, the unnamed Kuwaiti financial project would compete head-on with the Dubai International Fin-ancial Centre (DIFC), Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH), Qatar Financial Centre and the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh.

In order to become law, the Kuwaiti National Assembly (or Majlis Al Umma) must approve the five-year plan. The assembly is due to resume its meetings on October 21.

Heated exchanges are likely once the members of parliament get to the part that requires shifting job opportunities to the private sector. More than 90 per cent of Kuwaiti nationals work for governmental departments. Lawmakers would stress for guarantees for the state remaining a primary source of employment of locals.

Kuwait stands out amongst GCC countries by setting aside 10 per cent of annual treasury income to the Reserve Fund for Future Generations. The plan aims at ensuring sustainable means for quality of life for upcoming Kuwaiti nationals. It is all too logical for Kuwait to be distinguished further by putting into effect a viable five-year development plan.

- Gulf news (http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Comment_and_Analysis/10249838.html)

Kuwait rode the emerging market wave for most of this year helping it become one of the world's top performing stock exchanges. But now the mood is changing.

Like a star that emits light long after it has perished, the Kuwait Stock Exchange still appears in the list of the world's top 10 performing bourses. But the share growth that put it there has stopped.

The Kuwaiti stock index has lost nearly all of the value it gained in the first half of the year, when it rose by almost 25 percent. In a bid to shore up ailing stocks, the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the sovereign wealth fund, is investing up to $1.12bn in local stock market funds.


KIA has come under fire from Kuwaiti parliamentarians over its $5bn investment into beleaguered US banks Citigroup and Merrill Lynch in January this year. The Citigroup stake is estimated to have lost the country $270m.

So will the grass really be greener on the Kuwait Stock Exchange?

Last month Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) revised its full year earnings forecast for Kuwait-listed companies, slashing its initial projection of a 42 percent rise in earnings.

Markaz now expects growth in 2008 to be flat, after consolidated earnings at Kuwaiti companies fell by 12 percent in the first half.

Investment companies have taken the biggest hit, posting a 29 percent drop in earnings in the first half, compared with the corresponding period last year.

"The nasty surprises are likely to come from the investment services segment," says Mandagolathur Raghu, head of research at Markaz.

"These companies depend on the stock market performance for their stock price performance. So if the stock market is not doing too well, you are going to see a significant slowdown in their earnings."

The decline in earnings comes amid tough comparatives and one off items that boosted earnings last year.

In the year to date, shares in Investment Dar Company are down 10.5 percent, Aayan Leasing and Investment Company shares have lost 6.6 percent of their value, and the International Financial Advisors stock is down 39.8 percent.

Investment services accounted for 48 percent of total earnings in Kuwait in 2007, when aggregate earnings growth in the sector reached 222 percent, mainly due to a stock market revival after the 2006 fall.

Markaz expects the sector to close the year with a 19 percent decline in earnings.

It is more positive on the banking sector, which saw earnings growth of 24 percent in the first half and which is expected to post 34 percent growth in full year earnings, up from 26 percent last year.

"We are bullish about the banking sector, but obviously due to the decline in the stock market the investment companies and insurance companies will take a hit," says Faisal Hasan, head of research at Global Investment House.

Despite strong earnings growth, Kuwaiti bank stocks have tumbled this year amid the global financial crisis.

Heavyweight banking companies National Bank of Kuwait, Commercial Bank of Kuwait and Gulf Bank of Kuwait are down by 3.9 percent, 11.8 percent and 14.4 percent respectively, in the year to date.

A weak performance from telecommunications has also dragged on the market, taking some observers by surprise.

Zain and National Mobile Telecom Company (Wataniya) posted a one percent and three percent decline in first half profits, respectively, in first half earnings.

"The telecommunications segment we believe will pose the biggest risk to our earnings forecast for 2008," the Markaz report states.

The company forecasts 9 percent full year earnings growth for Zain and 33 percent for Wataniya.

First half results in the telecom sector were hit by a decline in average revenue per user (ARPU), higher capital expenditure and rising competition.

With a third company entering the Kuwait mobile market, competition looks set to keep rising, but on the plus side, Zain should benefit from significant subscriber additions in Saudi Arabia.

"People thought that Zain could continue to report a fabulous performance. It was one of the best performing stocks of last year in Kuwait," Raghu of Markaz says.

"They've been making a lot of investments across Africa, and I'm sure there's going to be some sort of lag time before that starts kicking in, in terms of earnings."

As of June 30 this year, Zain has more than 33.3 million customers in Africa.

The company now has operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

A business in Ghana will begin commercial service in the fourth quarter of this year.

"Not even the guidance from the company is that bright, at least not for this year," Raghu says.

"That's a large cap that will drag the performance of the stock market lower this year."

Kuwait's real estate companies have posted mixed performances this year, with stocks in Al-Mazaya Holding and Alargan International up by 40 percent and 45 percent in the year to date, while National Real Estate and Commercial Real Estate are down by nearly 30 percent.

A strong performance in mid cap and small cap stocks drove earnings growth at Kuwaiti companies in the first half of the year.

In 2008, large cap earnings growth is expected to fall by 4 percent, mainly due to a deceleration in earnings for KIPCO, National Industries and Agility.

Mid caps, which currently contribute to 27 percent of earnings, are expected to grow by 12 percent.


Kuwait International Bank is expected to lead mid cap earnings this year after posting a five-fold increase in earnings to $121m in the first half.

Small caps are likely to be the strongest performers with an earnings growth of 17 percent, but with a contribution of only 15 percent to overall earnings.

Companies like MENA Holdings, Kuwait Commercial Markets and Ekkitab Holding Company are expected to underpin small cap earnings growth, Markaz believes.

"In terms of valuation, the market still looks attractive because price to earnings is still in the range of 10.5 to 11, which is attractive compared to the UAE or Saudi counterparts," Hasan of Global Investment House says.

Looking ahead, he sees potential upside on the back of improved valuations and news that sovereign wealth funds will enter the market.

"Once the third quarter results start trickling in we might see upside to the volumes of trading, which have been down due to the holy month of Ramadan and due to investors who've stayed away from the market because it has been so volatile in the past weeks."

He expects companies to recover in the second half and to record profit growth of between 15 and 20 percent.

The Kuwaiti market has a reputation for being less volatile than other GCC bourses.

The number of listed companies is greater than in neighbouring Saudi Arabia. It is also less retail driven.

"If you look at the performance of the Kuwait Stock Exchange over a long period of time, it has always produced the best returns for the lowest risk," Raghu says.

"It is never a very high octane market, like Saudi or Dubai."

"By Kuwaiti standards, it has been more volatile this year, and in the last two months it has been really volatile," agrees Global's Hasan. "But if you compare Kuwait with Saudi, Qatar or the UAE, it has been less volatile."

Despite recent falls, Raghu at Markaz believes KIA, the sovereign wealth fund, is making the right decision in investing in local stocks.

"Once the market comes back to its normal valuation, that will have a positive impact," he says. Will it be a better investment than buying into Citigroup?

"Absolutely."

Kuwait’s 2008 market milestones

January

Zambia awards a $1.2bn two-year oil supply contract to Kuwait's International Petroleum Group.

The Kuwaiti government approves a privatisation bill to facilitate a 40 percent sale of national carrier Kuwait Airways Corp to the public and 35 percent to KSE listed companies and specialised foreign firms.

Kuwait cuts its benchmark dinar discount rate and repurchase rate by 50 basis points. The central bank reduces the discount rate to 5.75 percent from 6.25 percent.

February

Kuwait announces plans for a $11.4bn rail and metro project. The project is intended to link a proposed 2000-km Gulf railway line with Iraq, Iran, and beyond.

Kuwait signs a memorandum of understanding for the development of its northern oil fields.

March

Kuwait awards the construction of part of its planned 615,000 barrel per day refinery to US engineering firm Fluor. The refinery is slated to come on stream by the end of the first quarter of 2012.

April

New Kuwaiti firm Noortel announces plans to invest in Middle Eastern, Asian, and African telecom markets.

Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), which manages the oil producer's surplus wealth, buys nearly $800m of shares in the initial public offering of credit card firm Visa.

Kuwait starts production of free or non-associated gas. Production begins with 50 million cu ft per day of non-associated gas.

Kuwait announces plans to float tenders for power expansion worth more than $2.5bn to meet rapid growth in housing projects.

Kuwait's 2008-09 budget plans for a record spending of $71.4bn.

June

KNPC plans to invest $30bn to boost Kuwait's refining sector.

United Arab Shipping Company SAG signs a new building contract for nine 13,100 TEU ships (A13) with Samsung Heavy Industries.

Kuwait approves the privatisation plans of loss-making KAC and awards a third mobile license.

Kuwait's parliament passes a law that will cut taxes on foreign firms to 15 percent from a variable tax rate that reached up to 55 percent.

July

The central bank withdraws a temporary facility to guarantee the availability of dinars at a fixed rate on the interbank lending market to discourage speculation on the dinar.

Kuwait signs more than $27bn of investment agreements with nine Asian countries, including Brunei and the Philippines.

August

Kuwait Energy Company buys Oil Search Limited's MENA assets for $200mn.

September

Kuwait posts a $27.18bn surplus in the first five months of the 2008/09 fiscal year on higher than expected oil revenues.


- Arabian Business (http://www.arabianbusiness.com/532891-kuwaits-bull-run-turns-bearish)

The World Economic Forum (WEFORUM's Global Competitiveness Report -GCR) said Wednesday that Kuwait's macroeconomic environment remains for the second year in a row the most favorable worldwide.

The report adds that a budgetary surplus of nearly 44 percent of GDP (the highest of all countries), the highest national savings rate, and extremely low government debt contribute to this excellent result.

"Yet in order to put the country's recent surge in growth on a more solid footing, Kuwait must continue to carry out structural reforms. A major priority will be an overhaul of the educational system, both in terms of providing more access and also in improving its quality," said the report.

The Global Ranking of the report lists Kuwait as 35th in this year's edition of the Global Competitive Index (GCI).

The report says that the competitiveness of most Gulf countries covered by the GCI show a robust upward trend.

According to the report the most competitive among them, Qatar, 26th overall, has moved up by five places since last year, buoyed by the country's well-assessed institutions, but also by advances in the functioning of financial markets, as well as enhanced innovative capacity.

Qatar is followed by Saudi Arabia, which the report describes as a country that has experienced a robust improvement by eight positions to place 27th this year, mirroring the government's determination to improve its performance on a number of competitiveness indicators under the ambitious 10x10 program.

The most notable advances have been achieved with respect to the institutional framework for doing business, where the country moved from 41st to 37th place, and the efficiency of goods markets, where it improved by 17 ranks, from rank 51st to 34th.

These results mirror recent reforms, such as the greater ease of setting up new businesses and the overhaul of the judiciary, which have been initiated.

The United Arab Emirates confirms its position as one of the most competitive economies in the region, moving up by six positions to 31st place.

Overall, the country improves its ranking across all pillars of the GCI, with a more stable macroeconomic environment and a better assessment of the quality of the educational system (although the share of young Emiratis attending higher-education institutions remains low by international standards).

The country's institutional environment remains a competitive advantage, characterized by a low regulatory burden (5th), high public trust in politicians (8th), and reliable police services, positioning the country at 79th overall.

In addition, the use and penetration of ICTs and other advanced technologies are widespread and are increasingly catching up with the rest of the world, allowing the country to move up in the rankings to 28th position in this area.

Despite the financial crisis, the United States continues to be the most competitive economy in the world.

This is because it is endowed with many structural features that make its economy extremely productive and place it on a strong footing to ride out business cycle shifts and economic shocks.

Thus, despite rising concerns about the soundness of the banking sector and other macroeconomic weaknesses, the country's many other strengths continue to make it a very productive environment.

The United States is ranked first for innovation, and its markets support this innovative activity through their efficient allocation of resources to their most effective use.

However, the United States has built up large macroeconomic imbalances over recent years, with repeated fiscal deficits leading to rising and burgeoning levels of public indebtedness.

This indicates that the country is not preparing financially for its future liabilities and is on the road to making interest payments that will increasingly restrict its fiscal policy freedom going into the future.

Switzerland comes in second place, retaining the same ranking as last year, second only to the United States. Its economy is characterized by an excellent capacity for innovation and a very sophisticated business culture, ranked second for its business sophistication and third for its innovation capacity.

The country is characterized by high spending on research and development (RD), particularly impressive given the country's small size.

Switzerland's scientific research institutions are among the world's best, and the strong collaboration between the academic and business sectors ensures that much of this basic research is translated into marketable products and processes, buttressed by strong intellectual property protection.

This strong innovation is captured by the high rate of patenting in the country, for which Switzerland ranks 6th worldwide on a per capita basis. In addition, Switzerland's public institutions are rated among the most effective and transparent in the world (4th), ensuring a level playing field and enhancing business confidence.

- zawya (http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidKUN0064081008144326/Kuwait's%20macroeconomic%20environment%20is%20most%20favorable%20worldwide)

While it is noteworthy that Kuwait topped the world in it's macroeconomic environment competitiveness, it is important to note that kuwait has dropped 5 places to rank 35 as opposed to rank 30 last year in the overall global economic competitiveness while all other GCC nations have improved their rankings considerably as seen below

Qatar was ranked 26th in the world list, a jump of five places on the previous report topping the GCC rankings n second only to Israel in the entire middle east
Saudi Arabia was ranked 27 (up from 35th last year)
UAE 31 (37)
Kuwait 35 (30):ohno:
Bahrain 37 (43)
Oman 38 (42)

definitely not in the right direction as far as becoming a regional financial centre is the objective!!:bash:

^^to the last line.

But most countries are in deep water, so It's in better shape than Aussie or NZ!

أوكسفورد بيزنس جروب: شركات عقارية كويتية تعيد النظر في مشاريعها الجارية نتيجة الأزمة المالية وتباطؤ نمو القطاع
تراجع مبيعات السوق بواقع %27 إلى 1.9 مليار دولار في الربع الثالث
06/12/2008


على الرغم من مقوماته الاقتصادية الاساسية، فان قطاع العقار في الكويت يعاني تراجعا لم يسبق له مثيل من حيث المبيعات في مختلف شرائحه، في حين تعيد شركات التطوير العقاري الكويتية النظر في المشاريع العقارية الجديدة في الوقت الذي تحكم فيه الازمة المالية قبضتها على العالم.

وقالت مجموعة اوكسفورد بيزنس جروب نقلا عن تقرير صادر عن ادارة التسجيل العقاري والتوثيق بوزارة العدل نهاية شهر نوفمبر الماضي ان إجمالي مبيعات العقار تراجعت خلال الربع الثالث من العام الحالي إلى ادنى مستوياتها في غضون عامين.

واضافت انه بالاجمال تراجعت قيمة المبيعات إلى 1.9 مليار دولار بانخفاض نسبته %27 خلال الاشهر الثلاثة المنتهية في 30 سبتمبر الماضي مقارنة مع الربع الثاني من العام الحالي، كما كانت اقل بنسبة %54.7 عما كانت عليه خلال الربع الثالث من عام 2007.

واشارت إلى ان عدد العقود المسجلة في قطاع العقار السكني تراجع في الربع الثالث من عام 2008 بنسبة %6.6 مقارنة بالربع الثاني، في حين تراجعت مبيعات الشقق السكنية بواقع %10.1 وفقا للتقرير.

واضاف التقرير ان شريحة العقار التجاري هي التي خالفت الاتجاه النزولي وسجلت ارتفاعا بنسبة %9.3 في قيمة الصفقات المعقودة خلال الربع الثاني من العام الحالي مستمدة الدعم بصورة رئيسية من تزايد النشاطات في شهر سبتمبر الذي شهد 25 صفقة،وهو اقل من نصف عدد الصفقات البالغ 56 صفقة لفترة الربع الثالث بكاملها.

وقالت اوكسفورد بيزنس جروب انه في حين احدثت الازمة المالية العالمية آثارها على مبيعات قطاع العقار، الا ان ثمة عاملا آخر له دور في العملية على الاقل بالنسبة لشريحة العقار السكني في السوق الكويتي. ففي مطلع عام 2008، بدا بالنفاذ مفعول تشريع يحظر على الشركات الاستثمارية بيع وشراء العقارات السكنية. وقد ادى ذلك، مصحوبا مع تشديد المتطلبات الخاصة بالائتمان التي وضعها بنك الكويت المركزي بتحديد مستويات الاموال التي يمكن للبنوك اقراضها لاغراض التمويل العقاري كنسبة من إجمالي المحافظ الائتمانية لديها، إلى امتصاص بعض السخونة من سوق العقارات السكنية.

وبالاضافة إلى ذلك، ففي مارس الماضي وضع بنك الكويت المركزي قيد التطبيق تشريعات جديدة تشترط الا تزيد الاقساط الشهرية والفوائد التي يمكن استيفاؤها من المقترضين من القطاع الخاص نسبة %40 او اقل من رواتبهم، مقارنة مع السقف السابق البالغ %50.



التطوير العقاري
وقالت اوكسفورد بيزنس جروب ان التراجع الاقتصادي العالمي وما تبعه من تباطؤ في سوق العقار، امتدت آثاره إلى شركات التطوير العقاري. ففي نهاية نوفمبر الماضي، اعلنت شركة المزايا القابضة عزمها تأخير تنفيذ خطط توسعية في عملياتها العقارية، وانها ستركز انظارها على استكمال وانجاز المشروعات القائمة حاليا قيد التنفيذ.

وقالت الشركة في بيان لها في 30 نوفمبر الماضي انها بصدد تبني استراتيجيات جديدة فيما يتعلق بمشاريعها التوسعية في دول الخليج والدول العربية الاخرى، وذلك بعد ان درست بعناية الوضع الحالي في مختلف القطاعات الاقتصادية.

وكانت الشركة اعلنت في اغسطس الماضي خططا لاصدار طرح اولي عام بقيمة 137 مليون دولار في سوق قطر للاوراق المالية،وان تطلق مشاريع تناهز قيمتها 9.5 مليارات دولار في امارة دبي. وقد انشات الشركة في سبتمبر الماضي وحدة تابعة لها في المملكة العربية السعودية من اجل تنشيط قاعدة عملياتها في السوق السعودي، في حين سبق ان اعلنت في وقت سابق من العام الحالي خططا لانشاء شركات فرعية لها في كل من البحرين وامارة عجمان بدولة الامارات لخدمة اغراضها التوسعية والعملياتية. وليس من الواضح من بيان الشركة ما اذا كانت هذه الخطط التوسعية ستعلق مؤقتا في حين تركز اهتمامها على انجاز المشاريع التي هي قيد التنفيذ، إلى جانب توحيد قاعدة الايرادات.



تأجيل الخطط
ومن ناحية اخرى، اعلنت شركة ابيار للتطوير العقاري أخيرا تأجيل خطط للادراج على سوق دبي المالي، وذلك نتيجة لتراجع النشاط الاقتصادي العالمي.

ونسبت اوكسفورد بيزنس جروب إلى نائب رئيس مجلس الادارة والعضو المنتدب في شركة ابيار مرزوق راشد الرشدان قوله في مؤتمر صحافي في نوفمبر الماضي " في البداية، كنا نخطط للادراج في شهر اغسطس على بورصة دبي، الامر الذي ارتاينا تأجيله إلى شهر اكتوبر. ولسنا متأكدين من الموعد الذي سيحدد لاحقا للادراج، ولكني اعتقد ان ذلك مرهون بتحسن ظروف السوق."

كما علقت الشركة خطة لجمع مبلغ 200 مليون دولار من خلال اصدار صكوك، على الرغم من قول الرشدان " ان ابيار قد تدخل السوق عندما تصبح الظروف فيه مواتية."

وعلى الرغم من تباطؤ قطاع العقار في الكويت، ومع ان بعض شركات التطوير العقاري تتخذ جانب الحيطة والحذر بدرجة معينة، الا ان القطاع ككل يبقى نسبيا في وضع صحي. صحيح ان المبيعات قد تتراجع، وان مطوري العقارات قد يلجأون إلى توحيد مراكزهم، الا ان الخطوات الاخيرة التي اتخذها بنك الكويت المركزي، بما فيها تخفيض معدلات الفائدة على القروض الممنوحة للبنوك، وزيادة مستويات السيولة في السوق، يجب ان تشكل عاملا يشجع الجهات المقرضة على تقديم المزيد من القروض، الامر الذي سيكون من شأنه تعزيز مبيعات العقار ويساعد على تقصير امد فترة الهبوط في النشاطات الاقتصادية إلى اقل مما ستكون عليه في اماكن اخرى من المنطقة.

www.alwatan.com.kw

Kuwait earns $4.6 bln in Nov, lowest in 8 months
Sun Dec 21, 2008

OPEC-member Kuwait posted an income of 1.254 billion dinars ($4.56 billion) in November, the country's lowest monthly earnings in its 2008/09 fiscal year, on lower-than-expected oil prices, official data showed on Sunday. Revenue in the world's seventh-largest oil exporter was 1.95 billion dinars in October and 1.69 billion dinars in September, the government data showed.

In calculating the budget, Kuwait has assumed its crude, the country's main revenue earner, would fetch $50 a barrel over the year to March 31.

But Kuwaiti crude plunged to $35.62 on Friday, after peaking at $135 in July, according to state news agency KUNA, amid a gloomy global economic outlook.

Despite that, Kuwait posted a budget surplus of 8.06 billion dinars in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.

Revenue stood at 17.73 billion dinars in the eight months to Nov. 30, while expenditure was 7.9 billion dinars, the data showed.

Based on the initial budget forecast total revenue is expected to amount to 12.68 billion dinars for the whole year including 11.65 billion dinars from oil exports.

Kuwait had initially forecast a full-year deficit of 7.55 billion dinars.

Researchers at National Bank of Kuwait said earlier this month the Gulf Arab state is expected to post a surplus of 1.8 billion dinars this year, reflecting record oil prices during the first months of the fiscal year.

Kuwait posted a surplus of 9.32 billion dinars in 2007/08. (Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Erica Billingham)

www.reuters.com

Kuwait won’t back investment firms
13-01-09
Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shimali said Monday a government investment portfolio would not back the investment companies suffering from global financial crisis, but it would work in line with a special mechanism. The KD 1.5 billion portfolio will work on supporting Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) and be guide to the market, Al-Shimali said in a press statement. Only KD 300 million were pumped into the market, said Al-Shimali, and were enough for the time being.

The minister said the 2009-10 budget would have cuts in expenditures. However, the budget’s chapters of wages and projects will have more money. Meanwhile, Al-Shimali said the portfolio aimed at investing in Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) in line with clear-cut investment principles, as well as working steering the market. Speaking to KUNA, Al-Shimali cited chairman of Kuwait Investment Company Bader Al-Subaie who said KD 300 million of the KD 1.5-billion portfolio were already in KSE. New sums of money would be pumped into KSE in line with already-set objectives, said Al-Shimali.

www.arabtimesonline.com

أرباح بنك بوبيان تتراجع من 18مليونا إلى 1.8مليون فقط (http://www.alqabas.com.kw/Article.aspx?id=482250&date=18032009)

wow that's really scars me out

bobiyan bank sucks! i really dont like...

Kuwait's Gulf Bank posts Q4 loss as crisis bites

Kuwait's troubled Gulf Bank (GBKK.KW) on Saturday posted a fourth-quarter loss of 445.5 million dinars ($1.54 billion), citing losses on derivatives transactions as it was hit by the global financial crisis.

Kuwait's fourth-largest bank by market value said it made a full-year net loss of 359.5 million dinars, compared with a net profit of 130.44 million dinars the previous year.

Gulf Bank did not provide quarterly data, which Reuters calculated from nine-month financial statements showing a profit of 86 million dinars in the first nine months of 2008. In 2007, the bank made a fourth-quarter net profit of 25.35 million dinars.

The result was "mainly due to exceptional losses in derivative transactions, but also from losses on its investment and loan portfolios relating to the global financial meltdown", the bank said in a statement.

In December, Gulf Bank shareholders approved a rescue plan ordered by the central bank to raise 375 million dinars in an emergency rights issue to cover derivatives losses of the same amount.

In the following month, the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the country's sovereign wealth fund, bought the remaining unsubscribed stock, taking a 16 percent stake in Gulf Bank.

"(The year) 2008 proved to be a difficult and disappointing year for Gulf Bank due to the exceptional losses incurred in its derivatives operation," Chairman Kutayba al-Ghanim said in the statement.

Ghanim warned of yet another tough year in 2009 as the global financial crisis takes its toll on the wealthy Gulf Arab state. "Gulf Bank is not immune ... though the bank is in a sounder position due to the recent recapitalisation and additional provisions taken in 2008," he said.

He did not elaborate further on the provisions.

Banks in Kuwait and in other Gulf Arab countries have seen sharp profit declines as the credit crisis hit the oil-exporting region, with some posting quarterly and annual losses and being forced to take provisions.

In 2007, the bank made a fourth-quarter net profit of 25.35 million dinars and an annual net profit of 130.44 million dinars.

In October, the central bank halted trading in Gulf Bank until the end of a restructuring plan that saw Chairman Bassam al-Ghanim replaced by his brother Kutayba.

The lender said in November that its board of directors would resign after finalising the capital increase and that a new board would be elected, but has given no further details since.

"Improvements that will result from restructuring within the bank will take time," Ghanim said, without elaborating.

Last year, the government guaranteed all deposits in Kuwaiti banks in a bid to restore confidence after Gulf Bank's difficulties raised investor fears that the sector's problems as a result of the credit crisis ran deeper than first thought.

Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by David Stamp
www.reuters.com

445 MILIION KD!! WTF?? were they that short-sighted?

KUWAIT: "The government is building a state of unproductive employees" former MP Marzook AlـGhanim said to students at the College of Business Sciences at Kuwait University during a symposium entitled "The government is to blame."

Former MP AlـGhanim said, "In general, Kuwait people should know where the country is heading when several important political, economic and sports issues are stagnant. The education in the country has reached its lowest point as 90 percent of the budget allocated to the Ministry of Education is now spent on salaries and only 10 percent used for development."
He added that the standard of health services "suffers from corruption and a shortage of hospital beds and hospitals."

Regarding the issue of employment, he explained that 93 percent of Kuwaiti employees work in the public sector and that the 7 percent in the private sector are "mostly unproductive," citing that salaries paid to these said "unproductive employees" have increased by 16 percent over the past two years.

"Who is to be blamed for causing this awkward situation? The government is to be blamed for creating a state of unproductive employees and no one will know how to pay their fat salaries if oil production is stopped."

AlـGhanim added that the parliament has partially contributed to creating "this awkward situation, but the government has a majority of 17 votes and is capable of approving any draft law."

Meanwhile, electoral candidate in the First Constituency Mubarak AlـHarees asserted that Kuwait is in "bad need of a strong government capable of standing against political blackmail.

"Kuwait needs a government with a defined agenda and a clear executable program."

Candidate AlـHarees denied claims accusing the parliament of interrupting development projects, saying, "Actually, the government is obviously incapable of running the country by failing to achieve reform or executing development programs, which forced MPs to adopt irrational behaviors that lead to the government''s resignation. The country needs a strong government capable of dealing with various political crises in the future."
He added that the coming elections will be considered an historical opportunity "to treat accumulated problems that were produced by the previous legislative term; the coming phase should be the start of a steady corrective era strong enough to stand in the face of new challenges, otherwise the country will be dragged to an even lower level of deterioration and failure."

Kuwaiti Cabinet approves economic stimulus bill


Kuwait's Cabinet has approved a $5.15 billion economic stimulus bill to help the oil-rich country weather the global crisis, the finance minister said Thursday.

The move bypassed Kuwait's parliament which the ruler dissolved last week citing abuse of democracy and stalling development. The plan aims to help struggling investment companies and offer bank loan guarantees.

Finance Minister Mostafa al-Shimali told the official Kuwait News Agency the Cabinet made the decision Thursday.

The ruler of this major U.S. ally in the Gulf is now expected to issue a decree turning the bill into law. The country's 1962 constitution gives him the right to legislate on urgent matters in the absence of parliament. But when the new house due to be elected in less than two months meets, it will have the right to vote it down.

When the parliament was disbanded, the stimulus plan was facing criticism from many lawmakers who said it would only benefit big companies or that it contradicted Islamic law. Others said they wouldn't vote for it unless the government buys or reschedules billions of consumer debts owed by Kuwaitis. The government has rejected this for years.

The Central Bank governor, Sheik Salem Abdul-Aziz Al Sabah, unveiled the draft bill in February, saying its purpose was to "reduce the risk of an economic recession" by helping struggling investment companies and offering bank loan guarantees.

The plan will help banks deal with loan losses and increase their capital but under stringent conditions, including expense cutting and possible mergers. Also, it will guarantee 50 percent of future bank loans to companies that will invest the money locally.

Kuwait's economy, which is largely dependent on oil revenues and government spending, has been struggling with the fallout from the global downturn. The government has cut interest rates, guaranteed all bank deposits and pumped liquidity into the slumping stock exchange.

According to KUNA, the country's 99 investment companies lost nearly $32 billion between August and January, a third of what those companies once owned.

KUNA also said the Cabinet approved the 2009-2010 budget which starts April 1. No details were released but a parliament committee had earlier said the budget foresees a 4.25 billion dinar, or $14.72 billion, deficit and cuts on capital spending. However, Kuwait's estimated deficits always turn into actual surpluses because oil revenues are calculated at much less than what it sells for.

www.iht.com

Kuwait's top industrial firm posts heavy loss in 2008


National Industries Group Holding, Kuwait's largest private industrial firm, on Tuesday posted loss of 282 million dinars (970 million dollars) for 2008.

The company, which has stakes in industrial and investment firms in Kuwait and other Arab states in the Gulf region, posted a profit of 209.4 million dinars (720 million dollars) in 2007.

In a statement on the Kuwait Stock Exchange website, NIG said its loss per share in 2008 was 224 fils (0.77 dollars), more than double the share's nominal value of 100 fils.

NIG shareholders' equity dropped by almost two-thirds to 486 million dinars (1.67 billion dollars) last year, from 1.13 billion dinars (3.88 billion dollars) at the end of 2007.

www.news.id.msn.com

did you guys know that 53 companies on the kuwait stock market have their shares halted!

and most are investment firms that are bankrupt, and they most likely be suspended from the exchange!

did you guys know that 53 companies on the kuwait stock market have their shares halted!

and most are investment firms that are bankrupt, and they most likely be suspended from the exchange!

:ohno:

Kuwait bourse may suspend trading of 47 firms

Kuwait's bourse will halt trading of 47 listed companies, among them the country's biggest investment bank Global Investment House, if they do not report their 2008 earnings by Wednesday, it said.
"Trading in the shares of these companies will be halted, if the annual financial reports (for 2008) are not submitted by 0830 on Wednesday morning," the bourse said on a statement on its website (www.kuwaitse.com) on Tuesday.

Global Investment House and Islamic rival Investment Dar Co, and many other investment firms are among the companies facing a trading suspension.

- Business24-7.ae (http://www.business24-7.ae/articles/2009/3/pages/kuwaitboursehaltstradingof47firms.aspx)

Lebanon's Hariri buys 5 pct in Kuwait's KIPCO

KUWAIT, April 8 - Lebanese billionaire Bahaa al-Hariri, the eldest son of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, has bought a 5 percent stake in Kuwait Projects Co <KPRO.KW> , bourse data showed on Wednesday.

ADVERTISEMENT


Hariri bought about 26.8 million dinars worth of shares in KIPCO, according to Reuters calculations based on a total market value of 536.8 million dinars.

Hariri is now the largest individual investor in Kuwait's biggest investment firm by assets, the company said in a statement.

Other shareholders include investment firm al-Futooh Holding Co, which owns a 49.65 percent stake, and United American Real Estate Services Co with a 7.52 percent stake, according to the Kuwaiti bourse website.

KIPCO, which owns stakes in 50 companies and operates in 21 countries, said last month that it aims to double its annual profit in 2009 after it fell to 24.1 million dinars in 2008.

موديز: في الكويت أقل نمو في الإنفاق العام على مستوى الخليج
إجراء تقشفي غير مبرر ويصعِّب حل الازمة

http://i43.tinypic.com/2i0ztr7.jpg

أظهرت احصاءات مقارنة أجرتها مؤسسة التصنيف العالمية (موديز) أن زيادة الإنفاق الحكومي خلال السنة الحالية استمرت في كل دول الخليج على الرغم من الأزمة وتداعياتها، إلا أن أقل زيادة في الإنفاق العام الخليجي كانت في الكويت وذلك بحسب قراءة مقارنة لميزانيات دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي.
وأكدت «موديز» ان عام 2009 سيشهد زيادة في الإنفاق العام السعودي بنحو 15%، وبأكثر من 10% في عُمان، وبين 5% و10% في كل من قطر والبحرين والإمارات.

أما في الكويت، فنمو الإنفاق في ميزانية 2009 - 2010 أقل من 5%.
وقالت مصادر مصرفية ان ما تعلنه الكويت بتخفيض نمو الإنفاق إجراء غير مناسب، لأن معظم دول العالم عززت الإنفاق الرأسمالي على المشاريع لتحفيز نمو اقتصاداتها المأزومة ولخلق فرص عمل تواجه معدلات البطالة التي ارتفعت بفعل تداعيات الأزمة على الشركات والمؤسسات الخاصة.

وأضافت: في الأزمات يتراجع الإنفاق الخاص بقوة، لذا يأتي الإنفاق العام ليعوض ذلك حتى لا تتوقف عجلة الاقتصاد وتنكمش. وفي الأزمات يتراجع الطلب الخاص فيأتي الطلب العام ليسد الفراغ.
إلى ذلك، فإن الكويت لديها فوائض مالية متراكمة وهائلة وفي ميزانيات السنوات الماضية لم تنفق كامل المبالغ التي كانت مخصصة للمشاريع. فعلى سبيل المثال، كان الإنفاق الرأسمالي على المشاريع العام الماضي لا يزيد على 57% من المبالغ المرصدة في موازنة ذلك العام.

وأكدت المصادر ان التقشف في غير محله، ولا يمكن مواجهة الأزمة بقانون الاستقرار المالي فقط. فهذا القانون عاجز عن حل الأزمات وليس قادرا على تحفيز الاقتصاد، لذا يبقى الحل أولاً وأخيراً بزيادة الإنفاق العام، لا سيما على المشاريع.

www.alqabas.com.kw

THE sheer scale, swiftness and trauma of the global tsunami has exposed the deep flaws in the banking systems, money markets, risk metrics regulatory regimes and governance protocols in the GCC.

Even though media and official cheerleaders predictably insisted that the Gulf was "immune" from the woes of Wall Street's credit meltdown, the region was not spared a nightmare of corporate defaults, property and stock exchange crashes, bank funding crises, money market nervous breakdowns, economic recession, sovereign debt time bombs, regional contagion, a consumer credit shock and an exodus of both flight capital and expat populations.

In fact, not only was the GCC not decoupled from Wall Street, the credit crunch demonstrated that the small, open economies of the GCC (other than Saudi Arabia) were dangerously leveraged to the global business cycle. Why? All GCC states rely on petrocurrency revenues and oil prices plunge in a recession. GCC economies are also reliant on such notoriously cyclical industries as petrochemicals, aluminum, luxury tourism, property, shipping, aviation, logistics and finance. GCC states also borrowed on a prodigious scale to finance their economic development in the Eurobond and international bank syndication markets.
However, with $1.5 trillion in money centre bank writedown and counting, the Gulf can no longer depend on offshore money to finance its projects and industries, let alone its extravagant consumerist culture and go go property speculation. It is mission critical that bankers, borrowers, governments, savers, investors and homeowners understand the embryonic new rules of the GCC 
capital markets.

One, as long as the GCC maintains its dollar peg, its banking systems, property and stock markets will import both inflation and deflation from Wall Street and regional central banks will be powerless to use monetary policy as a shock absorber in the local business cycle. The result? The wild booms and ruinous busts endured by the Gulf in the past decade will continue.

Two, credit powered property and stock market bubbles will simply not happen. Property priced soared because bank credit growth in Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE ran to as high as 50 per cent per annum. This was only possible because banks used cheap offshore funding to finance white hot local property speculation loan books. This is impossible now. Western money centre banks will no longer lend untold billions in cheap money to the Gulf because their own balance sheets must shrink. Loan growth rates triple deposit growth, so common in UAE banking during the boom, is mathematically impossible. The GCC banking systems (ex Saudi) are overleveraged, with loan deposit ratios in excess of 100 per cent in most countries. Bank credit growth will shrink, not soar, making it impossible to finance future asset bubbles.

Three, the default of Kuwait's Global Investment House (the largest independent investment bank in the GCC), the devastating currency losses at Gulf Bank and CDO writedowns in banks such as GIB, ABC, ADCB will retard the willingness of local banks to lend surplus cash to each other or engage in high octane derivatives trading. Back to basics means banking is now a utility business, with low ROE and the Gulf's financial buccaneers can no longer rely on the interbank market to underwrite their wheeling and dealing.

Four, after the $15 billion Saad Group and Al Gosaibi debt shocks in Saudi Arabia and its immediate impact on the creme de la creme of Gulf banking, name lending has proven to be as lethal as Wall Street's CDO daisy chains. Name lending will plummet and hundreds of zombie corporates on the brink of default across the region will be forced to restructure their debts or go out of business. Creative accounting and eyes wide shut bankers can no longer postpone the inevitable for so many borrowers who have lost untold billions in wild property and stock exchange speculation.

Five, the regional business culture of no transparency, rubber stamp boards, CEO's unaccountable to minority shareholders and Japanese Zaibatsu style conglomerates. Revolutionary change in Gulf business will stem from the shock waves of the banking, government, consumer credit and corporate debt shocks that will reverberate across the region in the next decade. Saad Group and Gosaibi are only the tip of the iceberg and credit rating agencies will prove impotent to protect investors. Note that many Gulf banks and corporates will have their credit ratings suspended or withdrawn if agencies do not receive even basic 
financial disclosure.

Six, GCC sovereign wealth funds have lost more than $100 billion in highly leveraged, aggressive dealmaking on Wall Street, the City of London, the European and Asian stock exchanges. Several funds competed to take leveraged stakes in international banks at the peak of the worst credit bubble in the history of the Euromarkets. They amplified the financial risks faced by petro-economies leveraged to the global business cycle, not diversified them. Sovereign wealth funds do not exist to roll the dice with borrowed money in offshore bidding wars or bail out busted local stock exchanges, as happened in Kuwait after both the Souk Al Manakh and Gulf War shocks.

Seven, Islamic finance is no oasis of stability in the Gulf. Islamic banks willingly financed property bubbles across the region. Nor does Islamic finance finance its own balance sheet growth. When the Eurobond new issue market froze, so did the sukuk market. When the property bubble crashed, Islamic mortgage financiers were wiped out. Funding costs spiked for both Islamic and Commercial banks. There is no lender of the last resort for Islamic banks, no deep and liquid money markets that can help raise liquidity as their balance sheets are burdened by colossal nonperforming property loans. We also just witnessed the default of a Kuwaiti investment bank's public sukuk issue.

Eight, the Gulf's professional money managers were exposed as beta chasers, not alpha generators. Why did almost all GCC funds get wiped out in the stock market crash? Diversification was a cruel illusion when the markets cratered in unison. When the grizzlies run amok, the Gulf's co-efficient of correlation soars to one.

Nine, the GCC insurance companies never learnt the lessons of the late 1990's bear market, when so much capital was wiped out. George Santayana was right. Those who refuse to learn the lessons of history are doomed to 
repeat them.

Banks will hoard cash, slash facilities, compete for deposits, shrink balance sheet growth. Independent money managers and investment banks in the GCC are a doomed specie, as they will be unable to issue debt or equity. Gulf banks will be unable to sell property linked assets to the Euro-mortgage securitization markets. Debt markets will be open to only the most highly rate sovereign or quasi sovereign borrowers. Western rating agencies, asset managers, hedge funds and brokers will withdraw from the region now that Kuwait, Oman and UAE will not be included in the Morgan Stanley emerging market index. Name lending is going share the destiny of brontosaurus.

Decoupling from Wall Street has been exposed as a dangerous, if self serving myth. We desperately need new paradigms of banking, capital markets and market regulation, to restore confidence that has vanished as eerily as a desert mirage.

- (MENAFN - Khaleej Times) (http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093260088)

مليار دولار قيمة المشاريع المعلقة والملغاة في الكويت 37.7 (http://www.alqabas.com.kw/Article.aspx?id=519506&date=23072009)

السعودية الأولى عربياً في جذب الاستثمار.. والكويت وجيبوتي في المراتب الأخيرة (http://www.alqabas.com.kw/Article.aspx?id=527278&date=22082009)

النصف الأول من 2010 موعد طرح أرض المرقاب بالمزاد العلني
28/10/2009

قال مدير عام المؤسسة العامة للرعاية السكنية علي الفوزان ان المؤسسة تستعد لطرح ارض المرقاب التي تبلغ مساحتها 470 ألف متر مربع للبيع بالمزاد العلني خلال النصف الأول من عام 2010.
وأوضح الفوزان، في تصريحات على هامش افتتاحه المعرض الدولي للعقار السادس الذي تنظمه شركة انة غروب لتنظيم المعارض والمؤتمرات أمس الأول، أن المؤسسة تقوم الآن ومن خلال مستشار اقتصادي بإعداد الوثائق والمخططات ودراسات الجدوى اللازمة لبيع هذه الأرض على هيئة قسائم مخصصة للاستخدام التجاري ، مبينا أن المؤسسة ستستفيد من الأموال الناتجة عن عملية بيع الأرض، حيث سيتم استخدامها في مشاريع تخدم المواطنين على الصعيد السكني مستقبلا.


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مساحتها 470 ألف متر مربع والبيع خلال النصف الأول من العام المقبل
طرح أرض المرقاب في المزاد العلني.. بين المعارضة والتأييد

أثارت تصريحات المدير العام للمؤسسة العامة للرعاية السكنية علي الفوزان حول استعداد المؤسسة لطرح أرض المرقاب التي تبلغ مساحتها 470 ألف متر مربع للبيع بالمزاد العلني بعد تحويل تخصيصها من السكني إلى التجاري خلال النصف الأول من عام 2010 ردود أفعال متضاربة بين أوساط العقاريين.


وانقسمت الآراء بين أغلبية معارضة لفكرة الطرح في ظل الظروف التي يمر بها السوق خلال الفترة الحالية وعدم توافر سيولة في السوق، إلى جانب تضرر الشركات من الأزمة والركود الذي يشهده قطاع العقار التجاري، الذين أكدوا أن بيع هذه الأرض في ظل الظروف الحالية يعد بمنزلة أزمة جديدة تقف أمام قطاع العقارات التجارية وقلة مؤيدة مستندة على ضرورة تطوير العاصمة وخلق فرص عمل جديدة والقضاء على الأسعار الخيالية التي كانت العقارات التجارية قد حققتها خلال السنوات الثلاث السابقة، حيث تعرض «القبس» ومن خلال هذا التحقيق وجهتي النظر المعارضة والمؤيدة ودوافع كل منهما.

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في البداية أكدت الأغلبية المعارضة لفكرة طرح الأرض للبيع بالمزاد العلني أن الوقت غير مناسب نهائيا لهذا الطرح، لاسيما مع عدم شفاء السوق من تداعيات الأزمة المالية العالمية التي تسببت في تضرر الكثير من الشركات الكبرى العاملة في السوق.

وقالوا ان الحكومة اختارت أسوأ مرحلة لبيع هذا الكم الكبير من المساحات التجارية، مؤكدين أن السوق لن يستوعب هذا الطرح، وان عملية البيع لن تستقطب المستثمرين سواء الشركات الغارقة في ديونها أو الأفراد الذين أصبح لديهم يقين بعدم وجود جدوى اقتصادية من الشراء في هذا الوقت، لاسيما في ظل الركود الذي يشهده قطاع العقارات التجارية والمساحات المعروضة الشاغرة التي لا تجد من يؤجرها، مؤكدين أن طرح هذه المساحة الضخمة في ظل هذا الوضع سيرفع من نسب المعروض، الأمر الذي يصب في اتجاه مزيد من التراجع سواء لأسعار الأراضي أو العقارات وكذلك على صعيد مستوى الإيجارات في المكاتب والمحلات التجارية.

وأشاروا إلى ردة فعل هذا الطرح على ملاك الأراضي والعقارات التجارية في العاصمة والذي سيصيب أغلبهم بالإحباط، خاصة مع يقينهم بتراجع قيم الأصول التي يملكونها إلى النصف تقريبا،الأمر الذي يجعل الملتزمين منهم مع البنوك بسداد أقساط القروض أكثر انكشافا على البنوك الدائنة، وأقل قدرة على الوفاء بتلك الأقساط، مؤكدين أن سعر المتر للأراضي التجارية، الذي تراجع الآن ووصل إلى 7 آلاف دينار، سيتراجع من جديد في حالة بيع تلك الأرض ليصل إلى نحو 3 و4 آلاف دينار، وكذلك الحال بالنسبة للقيم الإيجارية في الأبراج الإدارية والتي وصلت خلال الفترة الأخيرة إلى 5.5 دنانير كحد أدني قد تواصل تراجعها بسبب طرح هذه الأرض للبيع.
وأشار معارضو فكرة البيع إلى أن الظروف التي يمر بها السوق حاليا ليست مناسبة لطرح هذا المزاد الضخم، خصوصا في ظل نقص السيولة في السوق وتشدد البنوك في منح التمويل للمستثمرين الراغبين في شراء العقارات التجارية، إلى جانب تخوف المشترين من اتخاذ قرار الشراء.

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وبينوا أن تراجع الأسعار حاليا في سوق العقارات التجارية إنما يقلل من فرص استفادة الحكومة من بيع الأرض وتوظيف الأموال في المشاريع السكنية، متسائلين لماذا لم تقم الحكومة ببيع الأرض في وقت الرواج وقتما كانت الأسعار في قمتها حتى تحقق مؤسسة الرعاية السكنية أكبر استفادة تستطيع من خلالها تنفيذ المشاريع الإسكانية التي تسعى إليها؟ وكيف يتم بيع أصل كبير بهذا الحجم من أصول الدولة في وقت تتراجع فيه الأسعار بنسب تتراوح بين 30 و50 في المائة عن الأسعار التي كانت سائدة على مدار أربعة أعوام مضت؟ مطالبين بضرورة تأجيل هذا الطرح لحين تعافي السوق وتحسن أوضاع الشركات، حيث تستطيع الدولة من خلال هذا التأجيل تحقيق أرباح تعادل ضعف الأرباح التي قد تحققها إذا ما تمت عملية الطرح في ظل هذه الأوضاع المتردية الحالية والتي يتوقع استمرارها حتى منتصف العام المقبل.

واقترح عدد من العقاريين أن يتم بيع الأرض بالمزاد العلني عن طريق الطرح المرحلي من خلال برنامج زمني، بحيث يتم طرحها على مراحل، خصوصا أن طرحها على مرحلة واحدة سيكون له أثر سلبي على سوق العقارات التجارية، بينما لن يكون التأثير واضحا في حال طرحها على مراحل. وتساءل أصحاب هذا الرأي تساؤلات عدة حول آلية الطرح ونسب البناء المسموح بها، ونوعية الاستخدام التجاري هل إداري فقط أم تجاري ترفيهي وأسواق؟ وهل سيتم السماح للشركات أم للأفراد بالخوض في هذا المزاد؟ إلى جانب السؤال عن مدى سرعة تطوير الأراضي حتى يستفيد منها المشتري مباشرة، الأمر الذي سيساهم في ارتفاع سعرها. أما إذا كانت الدولة ستتأخر في عمل البنية التحتية لها فإن ذلك سيدفع باتجاه تخفيض السعر بشكل واضح.

يغلق الباب أمام المضاربات
أما مؤيدو فكرة طرح الأرض للبيع بالمزاد العلني في التوقيت الذي أعلنت عنه المؤسسة العامة للرعاية السكنية فقد تمثلت دوافعهم في أن البيع في ظل تراجع أسعار السوق وانشغال أغلب الشركات بتعديل أوضاعها المالية يغلق الباب أمام المضاربات التي كانت من الممكن أن تحدث إذا ما تم الطرح وقت انتعاش السوق، حيث كان السيناريو المتوقع في ذاك الحين أن يشهد المزاد إقبالا كبيرا من الشركات والأفراد نظرا لكونه فرصة لن تتكرر، الأمر الذي يفتح الطريق أمام رفع الأسعار والمضاربات.

كما أشار هذا الفريق إلى أن الأسعار الحالية للعقارات التجارية في السوق تعتبر طبيعية بعد ما شهدته من عمليات تراجع أثناء الأزمة المالية العالمية، مؤكدين أن الأسعار الخيالية السابقة كانت مبالغا فيها، وإن كانت الحكومة طرحت الأرض للبيع ففي ظل هذه الأسعار كانت قد اتهمت باستغلال المواطنين والاستيلاء على أموالهم، أما الآن فلن يستطيع أحد توجيه هذا الاتهام للحكومة، موضحين أن هذه الأرض كانت قد ثمنت في السابق بأسعار منخفضة جدا ومن ثم طرحت فكرة بيعها وقتما كانت أسعار العقارات التجارية في ذروتها، ولكن طرأ التأجيل على تنفيذ تلك الفكرة واليوم وبعد رجوع الأسعار إلى معدلات تكاد تكون طبيعية فإن البيع يكون مناسبا.

وأكدوا أن إقدام الحكومة على التفكير في التخلي عن الأراضي التي بحوزتها يعد في حد ذاته خطوة إيجابية ويجب الثناء عليه كونه مطلبا قديما لجميع العاملين في المجال العقاري بمختلف قطاعاته، لا سيما أن ذلك يعمل على مزيد من تخفيض أسعار العقارات في العاصمة الكويتية التي تضاهي في أسعارها العقارات في أغلى عواصم العالم، مؤكدين أن طرحها يدفع في اتجاه تنمية العاصمة، واعادة تخطيطها من خلال مشاركة القطاع الخاص في تشييد مزيد من المشاريع العقارية المتميزة التي تضفي على العاصمة منظرا يليق بمركز الكويت في المنطقة والعالم ككل.

وأشاروا الى أن طرح هذه الأرض انما سيخلق فرص عمل جديدة في السوق المحلي، ومن المحتمل أن يساهم في تأسيس شركات جديدة، متوقعين أن يكون تأثيرها ايجابيا في السوق بما يحقق طموح سمو أمير البلاد، لأن تكون الكويت مركزا ماليا وتجاريا في المنطقة، مؤكدين أن طرح الأرض بالمزاد العلني يحقق الشفافية والعدالة ويمنح الفرصة لجميع المستثمرين، سواء كانوا أفرادا أو مؤسسات، وكذلك يمنح الفرصة للدولة لاعادة تخطيط منطقة تجارية جديدة بأسلوب حديث ومتطور.

قرار سياسي وليس اقتصاديا
قال بعض العقاريين إن قرار طرح هذه الأرض في هذا التوقيت ليس قرارا اقتصاديا كما أعلنت مؤسسة الرعاية السكنية للاستفادة من مردودها لتنفيذ المشاريع الاسكانية، بينما هو قرار سياسي صادر عن مجلس الوزراء، وعلى المؤسسة فقط تنفيذه، معربين عن أسفهم لاتخاذ الحكومة لمثل هذه القرارات المؤثرة من دون استشارة أهل الخبرة الذين لديهم دراية كافية بمتطلبات السوق واحتياجاته، وفقا لكل مرحلة يمر بها.

الأفضل طرحها كمشروع ضخم يميز الكويت إقليمياً
اقترح فريق من العقاريين أن تقوم الحكومة بطرح هذه الأرض على هيئة مشروع ضخم بمشاركة القطاع الخاص على غرار المشاريع الكبرى التي طرحت من قبل في دبي والبحرين وعمان، بحيث يقدم هذا المشروع اضافة جديدة لمدينة العاصمة، ويكون بمثابة معلم تميز به الكويت على مستوى دول المنطقة، لاسيما وأن تلك الأرض تعد من أواخر الأراضي في العاصمة التي تتميز بكبر مساحتها، وتصلح لاقامة مشروع تجاري استثماري متكامل يضم مولا تجاريا كبيرا وفنادق وأبراج ناطحات سحاب بحيث تكون تلك المنطقة هي المركز الرئيسي للعاصمة، أما تقسيمها كقطع أراض وبيعها للمستثمرين لن يضيف شيئا للعاصمة، حيث يتوقع أن يلجأ بعض المشترين الى ترك الأراضي لفترة طويلة من دون تطويرها، الأمر الذي سيزيد من القبح الذي تعاني منه العاصمة.

توقعات المقيّمين لسعر المتر في المزاد
توقع بعض مقيّمين العقار أن تطرح الحكومة الأراضي بأسعار مناسبة لجذب المستثمرين للشراء مع الأخذ بالاعتبار أن دراسات الجدوى المستقبلية للمشاريع التجارية تختلف كليا عن تلك التي كانت تحسب قبل ثلاث سنوات، متوقعين أن يتم طرح المتر بسعر يتراوح ما بين 1500 دينار وألفي دينار للأراضي التي يكون استخدامها اداريا فقط، وذلك نظرا إلى ارتفاع حجم المساحات المعروضة في السوق من هذا الاستخدام، حيث لا بد وأن يتم موافقة سعر الأراضي مع الجدوى الاقتصادية التي تشير الى أن قيَم التأجير تتراوح ما بين 6 و7 دنانير للمتر.
أما استخدام محال تجارية أو مجمعات تجارية وفنادق، فمن المتوقع أن يتم طرح المتر بسعر يتراوح ما بين 3 و 4 آلاف دينار، موضحين أنه في النهاية لابد وأن ينتظر المستثمر عائدا صافيا يتراوح بين 3 و4 % وذلك بعد اختصام الالتزامات المالية تجاه البنوك ونسبة الصيانة.

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تأسيس شركة لإنتاج الكهرباء بالطاقة الشمسية
09/11/2009

أعلن الوكيل المساعد لقطاع التخطيط والتدريب د.مشعان العتيبي ان الوزارة بصدد انشاء شركة خاصة لانتاج الكهرباء بالطاقة الشمسية، مؤكدا الحاجة لتأسيس مثل هذه الشركة.

وقال المشعان في تصريح صحافي ان اجتماعا ضمه وخبراء من البنك الدولي عقد صباح امس في الوزارة تناول آلية تأسيس الشركة مشيرا الى انه طلب من البنك الدولي تقديم افضل الهياكل التنظيمية لمثل هذه الشركات بالاضافة الى ضرورة القيام بدراسة جدوى اقتصادية للشركة المقترح انشاؤها.

واشار العتيبي الى ان الشركة ستنتج نحو 1000 ميغاواط من الكهرباء ويتم تنفيذها على عدة مراحل للاستفادة من اجواء البلد المشمسة طوال العام تقريبا.

وبيّن ان الاستعجال لانشاء الشركة يهدف الى تخفيض تكلفة استخدام الوقود الثقيل في تشغيل التوربينات البخارية والمساعدة في المحافظة على البيئة وخفض نسب التلوث، مضيفا ان انتاج الشركة سيخصص للاستخدامات المحلية.

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يعطيك العافيه على نقل الاخبار وانشاء الله الموضوع ما يتاجل اكثر

تحديات وضعها بلير أمام الكويتيين
تهدرون الوقت والثروة.. بلا سؤال

تنشر القبس اليوم ملخص 10 تحديات تواجه الكويت بحسب ما جاء في تقرير طوني بلير الذي قال ان الكويت امة تستند الى دعائم قوية، الا ان البلاد لا تزال تواجه تحديات هائلة يمكن ان تهدد مستقبلها. فالثروة النفطية كانت بمنزلة النعمة والنقمة في آن، لكون تلك الموارد قد أدت ايضا الى تزايد الدور المهيمن للحكومة المركزية في ادارة الشؤون الاقتصادية، وهو ما أدى بدوره الى تآكل جزئي لروح المبادرة والمخاطرة في الكويت.

ان الكويت، في عدد من المجالات، هي في وضع يقل كثيرا عن وزنها وامكاناتها الحقيقية. وبالمقارنة مع دول المنطقة الاخرى التي تتبنى برامج اصلاحية، تفقد الكويت ريادتها وقدرتها التنافسية بسرعة كثيرة، فضلا عن انها لم تعد تحتفظ بمركزها القيادي السابق في الخليج. فالنظم القائمة حاليا لإدارة شؤون الاقتصاد وتأمين المستويات الاجتماعية وتوزيع الثروة لم تعد مناسبة لمواكبة التحديات الجديدة.

ان أوجه القصور الهيكلية تلك الى جانب التحدي السكني والتحول السريع في البيئة الاقتصادية العالمية، تخلق مجموعة من التحديات ينبغي على الكويت ان تتصدى لها وتعالجها بصورة فورية اذا ما أرادت ان تبني اسس مستقبل مستدام:

1-التحدي الديموغرافي: نمو سنوي بمعدل 3%
من المتوقع ان يتضاعف التعداد السكاني في الكويت بحلول 2030. وبمعدل نمو سنوي يبلغ 3%، فان من المتوقع ان يزداد التعداد السكاني للمواطنين من 1. 1 مليون في 2008 الى 2. 2 مليون مواطن بحلول 2030. ومن المحتمل ان تنمو قوة العمل بوتيرة اسرع نتيجة ديناميات الهرم العمري، وزيادة التأخير في سن التقاعد والزيادة المرجحة في المشاركة في العمل بين الكويتيين ممن هم في سن العمل، وهو ما سيخلق تحديا مضاعفا للحكومات المستقبلية:

ــ لا يمكن للقطاع العام ان يستوعب الأجيال المقبلة بنفس المعدل. وبالتالي فان النظام الحالي القائم على استيعاب 80% من العمالة المحلية في القطاع العام برواتب مرتفعة نسبيا وبظروف عمل مريحة لم يعد وضعا قابلا للديمومة. فبينما تشير التوقعات الى زيادة العمالة الكويتية بأكثر من الضعف بحلول 2030، فان من المتوقع لانتاج الكويت من النفط ان يرتفع بمعدل لا يزيد عن 50% فقط. وبالتالي فان الاستمرار على هذا المنوال واستيعاب المزيد والمزيد من العاملين في القطاع العام ليس الا وصفة لكارثة مالية قد تؤدي الى وضع غير مريح للغاية بالنسبة للحكومة، فضلا عن ان حصة الكويت في الادارة العامة لجهة الناتج المحلي الاجمالي هي في الأصل مرتفعة على نحو استثنائي مقارنة بالدول المتقدمة الاخرى. فالكويت لديها موظفون في الخدمة العامة بمعدل يزيد 3 الى 4 مرات للشخص مقارنة بالدول الاخرى (على سبيل المثال سنغافورة والنرويج والولايات المتحدة).

ــ تزايد الطلب على البنية التحتية والسكن والخدمات (على سبيل المثال الماء والكهرباء)، الامر الذي سيزيد من الضغوط على القطاع العام الذي كان اداؤه في الماضي دون المستوى، بصورة اعتيادية، على الرغم من مستويات الانفاق المرتفعة نسبيا. وقد وضع العديد من المشروعات التنموية للتخفيف من تلك الضغوط (على سبيل المثال المصفاة الرابعة، وخط انابيب الغاز الكويت / قطر ومحطات توليد الطاقة الجديدة)، لكنها إما ظلت متوقفة او جمدت بصورة نهائية.

تحدي الطاقة : نعمة ونقمة
في عام 2007، شكل النفط تقريبا وبصورة مباشرة نصف الناتج المحلي الاجمالي للكويت، في حين يعتمد الكثير من قطاعات الاقتصاد الاخرى على النفط، بصورة مباشرة او غير مباشرة، وعلى الفرص الناجمة عن الايرادات النفطية، فضلا عن ان منتجات الطاقة شكلت 94% من صادرات البلاد في 2007.
وببساطة فان النفط يعتبر بمنزلة شريان الحياة بالنسبة للكويت وسيستمر في لعب دور المساهم الاكثر اهمية في الاقتصاد لسنوات عديدة مقبلة. والاحتياطيات النفطية هي ضمن الاعلى في العالم، ومن الممكن ان تدوم لأكثر من 70 عاما، حتى في حال زادت مستويات الانتاج، تمشيا مع الاستراتيجية الحالية لمؤسسة البترول الكويتية التي تقضي بالوصول الى معدل انتاج 4 ملايين برميل نفط يوميا بحلول 2020.
ومع ذلك، لا تزال قائمةً بعض التحديات المهمة التي ينبغي ان تمثل حافزا للحد من الاعتماد المغالى فيه على النفط:

عدم الاستقرار بشأن خطط التوسع في إنتاج النفط
على مدى سنوات عديدة نوقشت خطط لزيادة الانتاج من 2،6 مليون برميل يوميا في 2007 الى 4 ملايين برميل يوميا بحلول 2020، الا ان القليل قد تحقق على صعيد زيادة الطاقة الانتاجية. ويجادل بعض المحللين في ان القيود المفروضة على المشاركة الاجنبية في قطاع الطاقة الكويتي يحرم الكويت من الحصول ع*لى التكنولوجيا والمهارات والخبرات الضرورية لاستغلال واستثمار مواردها من النفط الثقيل والغاز الطبيعي.

تراجع نصيب الفرد من الإنتاج
النمو الكبير في التعداد السكاني من الكويتيين سيؤدي الى تراجع كبير في نصيب الفرد من الايرادات النفطية، واذا ما استمر تزايد النمو السكاني بنفس المعدل والوتيرة فإن نصيب الفرد الكويتي من انتاج النفط سينخفض على الارجح من 958 برميلا سنويا في 2007 الى 705 براميل سنويا تقريبا في 2030 (على فرض نمو ثابت للتعداد السكاني عند معدل 3،2% بين 2008 و2030 ومعدل انتاج النفط عند 4 ملايين برميل يوميا في 2030).

عدم اليقين بشأن أسعار النفط
سيظل النفط مصدرا تنافسيا للطاقة في المستقبل المنظور، ومن المتوقع ان تستمر التقلبات العالية في اسعار النفط على مدى السنوات القليلة المقبلة، فضلا عن ان زيادة التوسع في مصادر الطاقة البديلة ربما تزيد من الضغوط على اسعار النفط وتدفعها باتجاه التراجع، على الرغم من ان الطلب العالمي على الطاقة سيزداد بصورة كبيرة.

عدم اليقين بشأن آثار النقاش المتصل بالتغير المناخي
قضية اخرى ينبغي دراستها والنظر فيها وتتمثل في التحول العالمي التدريجي بعيدا عن المحروقات (وقود الهيدروكربون) نتيجة المخاوف بشأن الاحتباس الحراري، وهو ما سيزيد من الضغوط النزولية على الارباح المتوقعة للنفط الكويتي.

خطر نضوب سريع للاحتياطيات
في حين ان الاحتياطيات الرسمية بلغت اكثر من 100 مليار برميل في 2007، كان هناك جدل وشكّ في تلك الارقام منذ ان نشرت مجلة نفطية عالمية محترمة موضوعا في 2006 يتكهن بأن احتياطيات النفط في الكويت هي اقل من نصف التقديرات الرسمية، وفي حال صدقت تلك التكهنات فإن احتياطيات النفط الكويتية ستنضب بمعدل اسرع بكثير مما هو متوقع عموماً، ونظرا الى تنامي معدلات الطلب في السوق العالمية، فإن الكويت ربما تقرر زيادة انتاجها النفطي الى معدل يتجاوز ما هو مخطط له عند 4 ملايين برميل يوميا في 2020، مما يعجل ويزيد من نضوب الاحتياطيات النفطية، وقد شكل خطر نضوب امدادات النفط، حقيقة، مصدر القلق الاكثر اهمية عند غالبية الكويتيين الذين استطلعت اراؤهم في مسح اجري في مارس 2009 على عينة شملت 1000 كويتي.

التحدي المالي: عجز الموازنة إلى مستويات مستعصية
بين عامي 2002 و2007 شكل متوسط نصيب الايرادات النفطية في الموازنة الحكومية 91%. هذا الانكشاف المغالى فيه على النفط يترك الحكومة تحت رحمة تقلبات اسعار النفط العالمية، التي تشهد تقلبات على نحو خاص هذه الايام، كما انها تجعل من الايرادات الحكومية في وضع غير قابل للتنبؤ بها على نحو كبير وتحد من قدرة صانعي السياسات على وضع تقديرات مستقبلية وخطط موثوق بها او التزامات راسخة ومتينة لمشروعات حاسمة. وعلى عكس معظم الدول، لا يوجد في الكويت رابط بين النمو في الاقتصاد الكلي (غير النفطي) والنمو في الايرادات الحكومية.

هذه الضبابية وعدم اليقين في الايرادات الحكومية، الى جانب النمو السكاني لجهة استلام الرواتب السخية والمزايا الاجتماعية من الحكومة، ستؤدي على الارجح الى عجز في الميزانية في المستقبل القريب (في اطار زمني مرجح بين 2014 و2017). ويمكن لهذا العجز في الموازنة العامة ان يرتفع الى مستويات مستعصية بحلول 2030 اذا لم يتغير النظام الحالي على نحو دراماتيكي وجوهري.

تحدي التنويع الاقتصادي: أكثر الدول النفطية اعتماداً على النفط فقط
لم تتمكن الكويت بعد من تنويع اقتصادها بما فيه الكفاية، فبينما نجحت الدول الاخرى في الخليج من توسيع اقتصاداتها غير النفطية بصورة جوهرية على مدى السنوات العشر الماضية، لا يزال النصيب الحالي للنفط في الناتج المحلي الاجمالي للكويت يشكل نحو 50% مقارنة مع الدول المنتجة الرئيسية الاخرى للنفط مثل النرويج (17%) وفنزويلا (30%)، والاخيرة تعتبر بدورها من الدول التي تعتمد اعتمادا كبيرا على النفط. ومن دون مساهمة قطاع النفط في الاقتصاد، فإن نصيب الفرد في الناتج المحلي الاجمالي للكويت سيكون بحدود 20 الف دولار بحسب القيمة الشرائية، اي ما يعادل المعدلات الموجودة في دول مثل هنغاريا واستونيا واقل بنحو الثلث من اسبانيا وايطاليا او اليونان، فضلا عن ان حصة كبيرة من الاقتصاد غير النفطي لا يزال مدفوعا بصورة غير مباشرة بفعل الطلب ع*لى النفط.

ومن الواضح ان المستويات الحالية لتنويع الاقتصاد الكويتي والجهود المبذولة للتوسع فيه وزيادته غير كافية. ويوجد اجماع في الرأي وتوافق في المجتمع الكويتي على ان التنويع الاقتصادي ضرورة ملحة وان معظم احتياجاته ينبغي ان تأتي من القطاع الخاص. الا ان بيئة الاعمال الداخلية في الكويت ليست موجهة او مهيأة لتوسع فوري في مشاركة القطاع الخاص، نظراً للمناخ المعاكس والسلبي تجاه الاستثمارات الاجنبية المباشرة والمستوى المنخفض نسبيا لقدرتها التنافسية على المستوى الدولي. وباختصار، لا يزال من الصعب جدا على القطاع الخاص القيام بأعمال وانشطة تجارية في الكويت.
ويواجه قطاع الاعمال تحديا خاصة يتمثل في المستوى المنخفض لانتاجية الاقتصاد الكويتي، وفقا لما اشار اليه تقرير البنك المركزي في رؤية 2020، اذا لا تتجاوز انتاجية الموظف في القطاع غير النفطي نسبة 27% من انتاجية الموظف في الولايات المتحدة الاميركية. ويعني ذلك ان الموظف في الولايات المتحدة ينتج بالمتوسط ما معدله 4 مرات اكثر من انتاجية الموظف في الكويت، مما يؤدي الى خسائر كبيرة في فرص الرفاهية.

وبالتزامن، فان الدول الاخرى في المنطقة تستثمر بكثافة في جهود التنويع الاقتصادي. ويمكن الحصول على امثلة على ذلك في عدد لا يحصى من المجالات.

إصلاحات ضرورية مطلوبة في قطاع الأعمال
حقق اقتصاد دبي مستوى عاليا من التنويع بحيث اصبح يشكل قطاع الخدمات (على سبيل المثال تجارة التجزئة والجملة والسياحة والعمليات اللوجستية والخدمات المالية.. الخ) قرابة ثلاثة ارباع الناتج المحلي الاجمالي. كما ان «عامل دبي» مسؤول بصورة كبيرة عن خفض مساهمة النفط الى اقل من 40% من الناتج المحلي الاجمالي للامارات. وحتى لو اضرت الازمة الحالية باقتصاد دبي، المثقل بالدين، بصورة كبيرة، فان جهودها في تطوير مواطن قوة اساسية وجوهرية في الخدمات المالية والاعمال والتجارة والعمليات اللوجستية والسياحة على الاغلب ستستمر.

أثنى البنك الدولي مؤخراً على السعودية بوصفها «الدولة الاصلاحية الاسرع في العالم» وذلك لجهودها المتسارعة في تحسين بيئة الاعمال لديها. وبالتزامن، فان مزيدا من الدول في المنطقة تعمل على تغيير النظام فيها من الروتين والبيروقراطية الى تطوير التشريعات والقوانين، ومنها على سبيل المثال فتح شركات تقدم خدمات متعددة ومتنوعة في موقع واحد للمستثمرين الذين يسهلون توفير اعمال جديدة.
معظم الدول الاخرى في المنطقة تخفض الضرائب وتسمح بملكية تصل الى نسبة 100% للأجانب في الشركات المحلية لتسهيل تدفق الاستثمارات الاجنبية المباشرة.

إنشاء مراكز إقليمية
تعمل الدول المجاورة على تحويل قطاعاتها النفطية واقتصاداتها بطرق تقدم للكويت نماذج وامثلة وثيقة الصلة بالموضوع:
ــ لقد اصبحت قطر بالفعل المركز الاساسي للغاز الطبيعي في المنطقة فضلا عن انها تعمل على بناء قدراتها المالية وبقية محاور اقتصادها حول جوهر اقتصادها الذي هو الغاز.
ــ اضافة الى كونها منتج النفط الرئيسي والاول في العالم، تتحول السعودية، وبوتيرة سريعة الى اكبر قاعدة في العالم لصناعات البتروكيماويات القائمة على غاز الايثان.

ــ تضاعف ابوظبي من جهودها لتنويع صناعة النفط لدرجة تعزيز قيادتها في مجال الطاقة البديلة.
طورت دبي وقطر والبحرين قطاعات مالية جاذبة تلبي الاحتياجات المحلية والاجنبية، وبينما استطاعت دبي ان تبني صناعة خدمات مالية تشكل حاليا قرابة ربع الناتج الحلي الاجمالي للامارة، تمكنت قطر من بناء اسس قوية في مركز قطر المالي يدور حول اقتصادها القوي للغاز الطبيعي. وفي المقابل طورت البحرين لنفسها مركزا قياديا في مجال الخدمات المصرفية الاسلامية.

القدرة الاستيعابية للموانئ البحرية في منطقة الخليج تنمو بوتيرة متصاعدة وهو ما قد يؤدي الى افراط في السعة بحلول 2020، كما ان سعة المطارات الاقليمية تنمو بصورة هائلة. فدبي وابوظبي والدوحة وجدة والبحرين تخطط جميعها لزيادة القدرة الاستيعابية للركاب بما لا يقل عن ثلاثة اضعاف بحلول 2020.
وتمثل السكك الحديدية لدول مجلس التعاون فرصة طموحة لربط جميع دول الخليج من الكويت الى مسقط، وفي الوقت الراهن، تعمل السعودية على بناء شبكة سكك حديدية داخلية واسعة وممتدة.

وتمضي السعودية قدما في استراتيجيتها المتمثلة في تركيز نموها وتنميتها المستقبلية حول «مدنها الاقتصادية» الجديدة. وتعتزم تحويل حائل الى مركز لتدفق التجارة البرية، في حين ان مدينة الملك عبدالله الاقتصادية وبالاشتراك مع جدة، ستوفران بنية تحتية لوجستية لضمان هيمنة سعودية على التدفقات البحرية عبر البحر الاحمر.
وفي حال اكتماله، سيحتضن مركز دبي العالمي اكبر مطار في العالم (120 مليون مسافر سنويا)، فضلا عن اكبر سعة للشحن الجوي عالميا (10 ملايين طن/سنويا).

التحدي البشري
اذا ما ارادت الكويت ان تبني نظاما اقتصاديا مستداما، فانه من الضروري توظيف اجيال المستقبل، بنسبة كبيرة في القطاع الخاص. لكن من المؤسف، ان شباب البلد غير مجهزين بعد للالتحاق بالقطاع الخاص، حيث الاجور تعتمد عادة على الانتاجية والتقدم في الوظيفة مرتبط بالجدارة والانجاز. ومن المهم والضروري معالجة قضيتين على نحو عاجل:
ـ نظام التعليم لا يعد الطلبة بصورة كافية للعمل في القطاع الخاص:

فعلى الرغم من الانفاق الحكومي المرتفع نسبيا على التعليم، يفشل النظام الحالي في توفير المؤهلات المتقدمة والضرورية واللازمة لسوق عمل قائم على القطاع الخاص.
لا ينبغي على الكويتيين ان يتوقعوا ان تستمر الحكومة في توفير عمل مربح من دون بذل جهد متناسب مع حجم ما يتقاضونه من جانبهم. كما انهم بحاجة الى ان يعدلوا من توقعاتهم بشأن ظروف العمل والتعويضات. فالتحول باتجاه سوق عمل تنافسي ومدفوع بالقطاع الخاص يتطلب اخلاقيات عمل جديدة تعكس مستويات عالية وعلى نحو جذري من الالتزام والجهد.

التحدي الاجتماعي
اعادة هيكلة القطاع العام وتغير عقلية العمالة الكويتية ليس سوى جزء من القصة. فالكويت بحاجة ايضا الى ان تحسن من خدماتها العامة على نحو كبير. وعلى الرغم من الانفاق الكبير في معظم المجالات الاجتماعية، فان النتائج ونوعية الخدمات العامة لا تزال اقل بكثير من افضل الممارسات على المستوى الدولي:

لا يزال الطلبة الكويتيون يحتلون المراكز شبه الاخيرة في الامتحانات الدولية (على سبيل المثال Timms وPirls) وانطلاقا بالحكم في المعيار نفسه، فان نتائج امتحان Timms التي سجلها طلاب الصف الرابع والثامن في عامي 1995و2007 تظهر انه لم يطرأ اي تحسن ملموس على التعليم العام خلال فترة الثلاثة عشر عاما. فضلا عن ان المعدلات المنخفضة للالتحاق في الجامعة في الكويت (27% مقارنة مع 84% في كوريا) تشير الى ان هيكلية سوق العمل الحالية لا توفر الحوافز اللازمة لمعظم الكويتيين لمتابعة تحصيلهم العلمي العالمي.

تعاني الكويت من معدلات مرتفعة في امراض السمنة والسكري وتجعل منها قريبة من اعلى المستويات عالميا. وفي 2006 كان نحو 30% من البالغين الكويتيين يمكن تصنيفهم بالبدناء وما يقرب من 15% يعانون من مرض السكري. اما المخاطر الناجمة عن حدوث مزيد من المضاعفات، كامراض القلب والشرايين فهي كبيرة للغاية وفي نهاية المطاف ستلقي باعباء وتكاليف باهظة على الدولة ان لجهة الموارد او سنوات مفيدة من الحياة. وبصفتها بلد صغير نسبيا يتمتع بوسائل مالية وافرة، فان الكويت لديها الفرصة لتجديد وانعاش قطاعها الصحي بحيث يركز على الرعاية الوقائية بدلا من الاستعداد غير المتوقع للعلاج الباهظ الثمن في المستقبل.

تواجه الكويت تحديات بيئية لا تحصى تتراوح ما بين ادارة النفايات وارتفاع معدلات ثاني اكسيد الكربون ونصيب الفرد من انبعاثات اكسيد الكربون Sox والتحلل الصحراوي والبيئة الساحيلة. ولمعالجة تلك المشاكل بصورة سريعة، ينبغي على الكويتيين ان يطوروا ثقافة بيئة قوية. وفي الواقع فان الكويتيين هم من اكثر الشعوب استهلاكا للكهرباء في العالم. وعلى الرغم من ان فصل الصيف الحار يشكل عاملا اساسيا في معدلات الاستهلاك المرتفعة، فانه لا يزال بالامكان القيام بالعديد من الامور لتوفير الطاقة وحماية النظم الايكولوجية للكويت.
تغيير ثقافة الشعب الكويتي وتحويل الدولة الى مركز عالمي امر غير قابل للتحقيق دون تركيز جديد على الفن والثقافة، وينبغي في وجود مؤسسات ثقافية قوية ان تساعد الكويتيين على زيادة قاعدة معرفتهم وتقديرهم لمحيطهم القريب والبعيد بصورة افضل.

التحدي الجغرافي
تتوافر في المنطقة الشمالية للبلاد فرص اقتصادية كبيرة ومهمة (ايران والعراق)، لكن ايران لا تزال غير مستقرة وتشكل مصدرا رئيسيا للمخاوف الامنية للمنطقة والعالم ومن جانب آخر، شكلت الانفجارات الاخيرة في العراق (أواخر ابريل 2009) تذكيرا مؤلما بهشاشة الاستقرار والسلم في العراق، وللاستفادة من الفرص الاقتصادية، ينبغي على الكويت ان تعمل على زيادة الاستقرار وقابلية التنبؤ في تلك الدولتين من خلال مشاركتهما اقتصاديا عبر مشروعات تنموية مشتركة.

التحدي الأمني
العالم يتغير بسرعة ولا يمكن للكويت ان تتحمل ان تبقى جامدة وغير متغيرة فيما تدور التحديات الجديدة حولها، ففي الشرق تظهر قوىجديدة، وبينما لا يمكن للصين والهند ان تحلا محل المظلة الامنية للولايات المتحدة الاميركية في المستقبل المنظور، لكن من المتوقع لهما ان تلعبا دورا اكبر من الناحية الاقتصادية والامنية في منطقة الخليج.

وتستمر ايران والعراق في كونهما بلدين غير مستقرتين ولا يمكن التنبؤ بأفعالهما، وقد اعلنت الولايات المتحدة الاميركية انها ستسحب قواتها من العراق بحلول 2011، كما ان الادارة الجديدة مدت يدها الى ايران، على الرغم من انه من المستبعد حدوث تقارب مبكر، وفي مثل هذه الظروف، فان الكويت بحاجة الى ان تنوع من ضماناتها الامنية بحيث تتجاوز الولايات المتحدة الاميركية، فضلا عن ان الكويت بحاجة الى وسيلة لتتمكن من خلالها من اشراك ايران والعراق بمشروعات اقتصادية ذات منافع مشتركة لضمان بناء علاقات تستند الى المصالح المشتركة بدلا من ان تستند الى التهديدات الامنية والشك.

كما ان الكويت بحاجة الى ان تؤيد تطوير دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي، اذ يزداد التوجه القائم على انضمام الدول الصغيرة والمتوسطة الحجم في جميع انحاء العالم الى بعضها البعض في تحالفات اقليمية لحماية نفسها وزيادة نفوذها الدولي، وهذا التوجه الاخير يفسر لماذا تستنسخ نماذج مثل الاتحاد الاوروبي والآسيان والسوق المشتركة للجنوب في جميع انحاء العالم، ولا يزال مجلس التعاون الخليجي في بداية هذه العملية كما انه لا يزال ضعيفا جدا من حيث قدرته على توفير الضمانات الامنية او المزايا الاقتصادية التي توفرها الكيانات المشابهة، فضلا عن ان الامانة العامة لمجلس التعاون الخليجي لا تملك السلطات التنفيذية الموجودة لدى الكيانات الاقليمية.

تحدي التصور
التحديات العديدة التي تواجهها الكويت انعكست من خلال تصورات الجهات الداخلية والخارجية، فبينما ينظر الى الكويت على انها بلد يتمتع بامكانات كبيرة، الى انه ينظر اليها ايضا على انها «متأخرة عن غيرها» و«بلد دون قدراته الحقيقية»، و«بلد الفرص الضائعة» و«دولة من الماضي». مثل هذا التصور له تأثير ضار على نفوذ الكويت الدولي وطموحاتها الاقتصادية، ولذلك، فان الكويت بحاجة الى ان تبني على صورتها التاريخية كدولة سخية وامة معطاءة وان تستثمر اكثر في خلق صورة جديدة تقدمية للبلد.

تحدي الأداء والحوكمة : ديموقراطية تعاني اختلال التوازن
العديد من التحديات المدرجة في هذا التقرير ليست بالجديدة وتم تحديدها من قبل قيادة البلاد، كما تم تطوير مقترحات ملموسة بشأن كيف يمكن معالجتها، لكن من المؤسف ان الاداء لم يكن كافيا في المجالات كافة، والاسباب الكامنة وراء معظم العقبات تكمن في اوجه القصور في النظام السياسي القائم، وتعاني الكويت، من «شلل سياسي» أعاق التقدم على مدى سنوات عديدة، ولذلك فان البلاد بحاجة ماسة الى التحرك قدما بعيدا عن هذا الوضع غير المربح.
لقد دشنت الكويت ديموقراطيتها النيابية في 1962، وهي من الاصول التي ميزت الكويت ومنحتها خصوصية عن باقي الدول في المنطقة، وتمثل الديموقراطية الكويتية روح امة منفتحة وتقدمية، لكنها لا تزال ديموقراطية تعاني من اختلال في توازن المنافع ومسؤوليات النظام.

سيناريو التقاعس عن العمل
ان الكويت امام خيارين: اما ان تتجاهل التحديدات الماثلة امامها وان تواصل العمل كما فعلت في الماضي القريب، او ان تعالج التحديدات وان تتخذ قرارات جريئة لضمان مستقبلها، وكما يتبين لاحقا، فان الاول، حقيقة ليس بالخيار، حتى في ظل وجود ثروة نفطية هائلة.
اذا ما اختارت الكويت ان تتغير، فإن هناك خيارات لا يمكن للحكومة ان تقوم بها لوحدها فالشعب والقطاع الخاص بحاجة لاجراء تعديلات وتقديم تضحيات لضمان نجاحهما، وتشمل التغييرات الضرورية تحولات جوهرية في الطريقة التي عملت بها البلاد على مدى العقود القليلة الماضية، لا سيما اثناء السنوات التي تلت الغزو وتتطلب الاصلاحات اللازمة قيادة ورؤية ومبادرة نظرا لانه سيكون من الصعب تقريبا استيعابها من قبل جيل بات معتادا على اسلوب حياة مريح جداً.
ان ثمن التقاعس عن العمل سيكون اكبر من مخاطر المضي قدما.

عجز هيكلي في الميزانية بحلول 2015 وربما أبكر
ان سيناريو التقاعس عن العمل سيؤدي بالنظام القائم الى مواجهة اختلالات مالية خطيرة، واذا ما استمرت الحكومة في استيعاب الاجيال المقبلة من الكويتيين في القطاع العام كما فعلت في العقود القليلة الماضية، فإنها على الارجح ستسجل عجزا في الميزانية بحلول 2015 وبحلول عام 2030 قد يصل عجز الميزانية الى ابعاد مستعصية:

السيناريو المتشائم
في حال قامت الحكومة بـمايلي: 1ـ مواصلة زيادة انفاقها عند نصف المعدل المسجل بين 1998و2008 فقط. 2 ـ وبقي انتاج النفط مستقرا عند المستويات الحالية وهي 2،6 مليون برميل يوميا الى 2030. 3 ـ وتراجع متوسط سعر النفط الكويتي الى 30 دولارا، فإن عجز الميزانية سيبلغ رقما مذهلا قدره 166 مليار دولار في 2030 وفي الوقع فإنه في ظل هذه الظروف من الانتاج اليومي والسعر، فإن من شأن الميزانية ان تسجل عجزا اليوم.
قد لا يكون هذا السيناريو مستبعدا جدا، لا سيما اذا ما تفاقمت الضغوط النزولية على النفط من خلال التحول السريع الى الوقود البديل الذي اوجدته، والحاجة الملحة للحد من انبعاثات الكربون العالمية خلال العقدين المقبلين (على سبيل المثال الاستخدام المتزايد للطاقة النووية في جميع انحاء العالم وتحول متسارع تجاه استخدام السيارات الكهربائية ومنازل ذات فعالية اكبر في استخدام الطاقة، الخ).

السيناريو العادي
مع معدل نمو في انفاط الدولة يزيد قليلا عن معدل النمو السكاني (5%) وسعر النفط الكويتي عند معدل متوسط يقدر بــ 60 دولارا (وهو معدل يرى بعض المحللين انه الاكثر ترجيحا في المدى المتوسط الى المدى الطويل) ومع انتاج محلي للنفط عند 3،5 ملايين برميل يوميا بحلول 2030 (وفقا لتوقعات مؤسسات البترول لعام 2015) فإن الميزانية ستسجل عجزا يبلغ 49 مليار دولار في 2030 اما في 2015 فستكون الميزانية قد سجلت بالفعل عجزا.

سيناريو متفائل للغاية
مع بلوغ أسعار النفط 90 دولارا ووصول انتاج النفط الى 4 ملايين برميل يوميا بحلول 2030 ونمو في الانفاق الحكومي لا يتجاوز 3% فحسب سنويا، فان الميزانية ستكون متوازنة في 2030 .
اذا ما استمرت حالة الجمود التي شهدتها مؤسسة البترول الكويتية في ما يخص موضوع زيادة طاقتها الانتاجية، فان الميزانية ربما تسجل عجزا هيكليا في وقت ابكر، واذا ما استمر الانتاج عند مستوياته الحالية والبالغ 205 ملايين برميل يوميا، فان الميزانية قد تسجل عجزا قبل عام 2015 .

أن تشهد الكويت عجزا مبكرا جدا في ميزانيتها العامة وان تستمر في الوقت ذاته في استيعاب غالبية الكويتيين في القطاع العام سيخلق وضعا سيكون بمنزلة الكابوس بالنسبة للكويت. واذا لم تفعل الكويت شيئا حيال ذلك، فانه سيكون من المستحيل عليها تقريبا ان تلحق بركب منافساتها في المنطقة.

المخاطر السياسية
في حال حدوث عجز في الميزانية، فان تجنب الفوضى السياسية والفتنة الاهلية سيصبح على رأس اولويات الدولة. كما ان طرح تغييرات في مرحلة متأخرة لمكافحة العجز المتنامي في الميزانية سيغدو اكثر صعوبة لجهة تفسيره لشعب غير مستعد لتغيير اساليبه. وفي الوقت الراهن، فان صندوق الاجيال القادمة قد لا يكون تعرض بعد لضغوط المساهمة في ميزانية الحكومة. لكن الحكومة قد تجد نفسها مضطرة للتضحية بمستقبل الامة لادامة واقع مصطنع والحفاظ على الشعب في سلام.
ان النافذة المفتوحة امام فرصة تحويل الكويت الى قوة اقليمية واستعادة قيادتها في منطقة الخليج، ستغلق في وقت اقرب من المتوقع اذا لم يتخذ اي اجراء اليوم. وقد تكون تبعات التقاعس عن العمل كبيرة للغاية. وفي غضون 5 سنوات الى 7 سنوات من الآن، ربما تضطر الحكومة الى بلوغ وضع تحفظ فيه السلام من خلال سياسات «ضبط الاضرار» التي ستفضي في نهاية المطاف الى افلاس الدولة على المدى البعيد.
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لا يمكن للكويت تحمل تبعات تجاهل هذه المخاطر. لذلك فان هناك حاجة وضرورة لوجود رؤية جديدة واجندة اصلاح شاملة للتغلب على تلك التحديات الماثلة في الحاضر واقتناص الامل الواعد في الغد.

دول الخليج سبقتنا
- المملكة السعودية تتحول بوتيرة سريعة إلى أكبر قاعدة في العالم لصناعة البتروكيماويات
- أبوظبي تضاعف جهودها لتنويع صناعة النفط لدرجة تعزيز مبادئها في مجال الطاقة البديلة
- طورت البحرين نفسها مركزاً قياديا في المنطقة على صعيد الخدمات المصرفية عموماً والإسلامية خصوصاً
- السعودية الدولة الإصلاحية الأسرع في العالم على الصعيد الاقتصادي.. فبيئة الأعمال فيها تتحسن كثيراً
- قطر باتت مركزاً رئيسياً لصناعة الغاز في المنطقة وهي تنوع اقتصادها وتسعى لتطوير مركزها المالي
- دبي حققت مستوى عاليا في تنويع اقتصادها وتستمر بنموها رغم أنها إمارة مثقلة بالدين

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Minister Details 'Key Projects' Being Launched In The Country
07/11/2009

Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipality Affairs Dr Fadhil Safar said on Thursday his government outlined plans for major development projects as part of efforts to turn the country into a key international financial and commercial hub. "The plans envisage diversification of sources of national income and less reliance on oil resources of the country," Safar told a symposium on the sidelines of the second international property exhibition themed "role of public works and municipality regulations in transforming Kuwait into an international economic hub." "Kuwait Municipality supervised the development of the country's restructuring chart which is in line with the envisaged regional and international roles of Kuwait. "Kuwait enjoys a strategic geographical location that entitles the country to play a pivotal role in the commercial, economic and financial activities on the international and regional levels.

Exchanges
"The new development programs take advantage of that location in the expansion of the processing and manufacturing industries as well as maximization of trade exchanges. "The programs also highlight tapping the ample opportunities and huge potential of the local and regional tourism market," Safar pointed out.

The government restructuring chart lays out practical, viable and well-calculated plans for urban expansions and major infrastructure and service projects. "The chart, aiming to turn Kuwait City into an international business and finance city, will be implemented as soon as it is endorsed by an Amiri decree, " he affirmed. "The projects focus on improving environment, the public utilities and entertainment facilities in the capital city which a modern lively one with a view to attracting global firms to do business here.

"The projects include launching of the heritage city, the green belt, Sabah Al-Ahmad business and finance center, Al-Hamra tower, Kuwait gate tower," the minister disclosed. "The urban development projects include updating and expanding the key state organs such as Al-Sief Palace, the Cabinet and the National Assembly (parliament).

The infrastructure projects envisage expansion of highways and road network including the ring roads, the mass transport project, the multi-storey parking complex, and the smart parking project," he went on to say. Concerning the Silk City Project, the minister said it aimed to launch several neighboring cities in the northern area including the labor, the medical, the cultural, the educational, the environment, the media, the industrial and the movie cities.

"The project also includes the conference and exhibition, the resort, the parks and hotels centers as well as the free area, the sports academy and the natural conservation. "The Silk City, to be built on 20 million square meters, will accommodate up to 700,000 people in over 175,000 residential units," Safar revealed. "Kuwait Municipality will sponsor this vital project which will ease the traffic jam in Kuwait City and other parts of the country. "The project will extend 30 kms along the coastline of Kuwait Gon (bay) and connect all business centers thus facilitating the commercial activity," he added.

"The expansion of Kuwait International Airport is also a key project in the long-term development of the country. "The state restructuring charts, approved by Kuwait Municipal Council, highlight the necessity of updating and expanding the current airport and launching a new one. "The expansion plans aim to increase the total area of the airport to 12 million sq meters through moving its southern boundaries to the Seventh Ring Road and adding other areas westward. "A public tender will be announced on launching a new terminal hotel, parking areas, maintenance and freight handling services, and bunkering," the minister revealed.


On the road projects, Safar said Jaber Al-Ahmad expressway project would link the Silk City and the satellite cities to be built in the northern area to Kuwait City. "The underground network and the railway project will link the State of Kuwait to the other members of the GCC, Central Asia, Europe, India Subcontinent and the Middle East. "The railway project is planned to be 150 meters wide and 265 kilometers long and cover almost all parts of Kuwait," the minister underscored.

The Municipal Council has allocated areas for warehousing, logistic services for the private sector commercial companies in Al-Salibiya area and is currently probing the development of similar services in Al-Abdali Area. "A total area of 2.5 million sq meters was allocated to warehousing, logistic services in the northern and southern border trade," he pointed out. "The development of Bubiyan Island is also one of the major projects being implemented by the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.

Reserve
"The project aims to turn the island into a naval facility of the country, a center of shipping activities, and a multi-media transport network. "It also includes launching a natural reserve and harbor and development of Bubiyan Lake, the resort area and the residential area along the coastline there," the minister noted. "The development project of Failaka Island aims to transform the island into a landmark tourist attraction location with the most modern entertainment facilities.

The government encourages the private sector to take part in the development of these key projects in line with Act 7 for 2007 on regulation of constructions, operations and processing and manufacturing activities," he went on to say. "The coming Arab economic, Social and Development Summit, to be hosted by Kuwait in January 2009, will play a pivotal role in attracting Arab capital, promoting joint investments, exploiting the oil cash surplus and enhancing the role of the private sector in social-economic development of the Arab countries, Safar added.

KUNA

تجارة: كنا من الشركات المتفاخرة بانكفائها على السوق المحلي لكننا اضطررنا للهروب


وقال العثمان: اننا نشعر بأسف شديد اذ أننا كنا من الشركات القليلة التي تفاخرت بأنها لم تخرج من الكويت وذلك للاستثمار في الخارج ولكن مع الأسف اضطررنا فيما بعد الى الخروج حيث أرهقتنا القوانين المقيدة مع ما يصاحبها من شح حكومي في الانفاق الرأسمالي على المشاريع التنموية عدا التقصير الواضح في تطوير البنية التحتية التي باتت لا تتلاءم مع ذلك المارد العمراني الذي يسعى الى الظهور ولكنه لا يجد له البنية الملائمة لاحتوائه، ومن جهة أخرى فاننا نحمل بين جنباتنا أعباء تلك الأمانة الملقاة على عاتقنا تجاه المساهمين حيث ان من حقهم علينا أن نبحث لهم عن أفضل سبل الاستثمار المجدية والمربحة وبمعزل عن المكان.

http://www.alwatan.com.kw (http://www.alwatan.com.kw/Default.aspx?tabid=206&article_id=562027)

Kuwait to spend US $62bn on construction in 2010
Dec 21, 2009


Kuwait will launch around US $62 billion (KD 18 billion) worth of new construction projects in 2010 according to the state minister for housing affairs Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah.

Speaking to reporters following the opening of the Kuwait Society of Engineer’s 13th Housing Exhibition, Sheikh Ahmad said the state’s development plan will reach its construction and building stage in 2010.

2010 will be the year of projects by means of signing housing projects in the new Sabah Al-Ahmad, Jaber Al-Ahmad and Saad Al-Abdullah cities, together with other housing areas,” he told the Kuwait News Agency.

The cost of housing projects to be carried out next year will be in the vicinity of $2.1 billion and the government is eager to allow the private sector to get involved, he said. A new company will soon be established to coordinate the low-cost housing projects.

Sheikh Ahmad is also deputy prime minister for economic affairs and minister of state for development affairs.

He said Sheikh Jaber Bridge and Boubyan Port are also on the list of new projects that will be signed for execution next year at a total cost of around $1 billion. Eight new hospitals will also be built in 2010, he added.

www.constructionweekonline.com

Kuwait Tests Investor Confidence
By Oliver Klaus

After Dubai's debt debacle, will Kuwait become the next Persian Gulf state to come under greater international scrutiny?

The wealthy state, owner of 10% of the world's oil, isn't about to run out of money. But a political crisis, exemplified by Parliament's demand this week that the state bail out its indebted citizens by buying $23 billion of consumer loans, is driving away foreign investment, damaging the country's economic prospects.

Kuwait is the only Arab Gulf state with a fully elected Legislature. But the fractious relationship between Kuwait's ruling Al Sabah family and the Islamist-dominated Parliament risks creating economic stagnation. In the past three years, Kuwait has seen the dissolution of three parliaments and the resignation of five governments. The emir, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, is expected to oppose Parliament's consumer-loan bailout bill, leading to a new bout of hostilities between the two camps.

The dispute will do little to raise Kuwait's profile for investors. The sheikdom already receives less foreign direct investment than any other Gulf Cooperation Council state, ranking alongside Yemen and Iraq, according to the U.N. Foreign investors are losing confidence despite the emirate's energy riches. Last year, Kuwait canceled contracts valued at more than $8 billion to build a new refinery in the Gulf state due to political objections.Oil companies, including BP, Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips, have become weary of the promise that Kuwait may open up its border oil fields with Iraq for investment. BP, which has operated in Kuwait for more than 50 years, has scaled back its office.

But without more foreign investment and expertise Kuwait is unlikely to achieve its target of boosting oil-production capacity to four million barrels a day, from below three million barrels now. Kuwait's economy was the worst performer among the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council in 2009, according to the International Monetary Fund. Shares on the Kuwait Stock Exchange slumped 10% last year, compared with double-digit-percentage gains for Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and even Dubai.

Without radical overhauls, Kuwait's economy will continue to lag behind others and oil production will suffer, threatening the country's role as one of the top producers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. For investors, Kuwait is a further reminder of the political risks that lurk among even the most oil-rich states as their institutions struggle to keep up with the pace of social and economic change.

www.online.wsj.com

الكويت ما قبل الأخيرة خليجياً في مؤشر ثقة مجتمع الأعمال
14/01/2010

توقع بنك إتش إس بي سي، أن تحقق منطقة الخليج نموا في اجمالي الناتج المحلي بمعدل يتراوح ما بين 4 و5 في المائة في 2010. وبالنسبة الى البلدان الأغنى في الخليج، التي يقول التقرير إنها ثلاثة (السعودية، قطر، وأبوظبي)، يتوقع أن تحقق نموا مرتفعا نسبيا، في الوقت الذي تأتي فيه الكويت ودبي في مراحل متأخرة من النمو، والسبب الخاص بالكويت هو تعثر شركات الاستثمار وتخلفها عن سداد ديونها.
ولفت البنك الى أن أسعار النفط على المدى الطويل ستؤدي الى تراكم الثروات، مما يؤدي الى أوضاع ايجابية في اقتصادات الخليج.

ويشير التقرير الى أن المنطقة واجهت في 2009 نهاية مفاجئة لنمو اقتصاداتها وسط موجة من التعثرات الجسيمة وهبوط أسعار العقار وانخفاض ايرادات الهيدروكربون، وعدم استقرار الأسواق المالية.
وأضاف التقرير: «مع نهاية عام 2009 كان هناك تحسن ما في الأسواق مدعوماً بالمحفزات المالية، وارتفاع أسعار النفط أكثر من المتوقع، لكن الثقة قد اهتزت مجدداً بعد أزمة دبي».
ويذكر التقرير بأن هذه العوامل تؤكد أن الخليج لم ينجُ من الاضطرابات العالمية.

ويبني التقرير توقعاته الايجابية لعام 2010، على ارتفاع ايرادات النفط والخطط المالية التوسعية الكبيرة. ويذكر أن الأخيرة تأتي مدفوعة باحتياطيات الخليج الكبيرة التي تسمح بتمويل المشروعات، وبالتالي النمو في الوقت الذي يتجه فيه العالم نحو تخفيض الانفاق ورفع الضرائب.

ويسلط التقرير الضوء على أن الانفاق العام المرتفع سيضمن النمو بمعدل 4 الى 5 في المائة، وأن قطر ستحقق أعلى معدلات النمو، تأتي بعدها الامارات نتيجة مشاكل ديون دبي.
ومع ذلك، من الجدير ذكره أن بعض العقبات لا تزال تؤثر سلباً في المنطقة، ومنها تعثر مجموعتي سعد والقصيبي واعادة هيكلة ديون دبي، مما خلق ظروفاً ائتمانية أشد من السابق، مما قد يعيق النمو خاصة في الامارات والكويت، حيث تعاني شركات الاستثمار مشاكل ديون وفي التعامل معها.
وختم التقرير قائلاً: «ان تصاعد القروض المتعثرة في الخليج يحد من الربحية التي تضغط على المؤسسات المالية في توخي المزيد من الحذر في الاقراض، خاصة للشركات الصغيرة والمتوسطة والشركات العائلية التي تقود القطاع الخاص.

www.alqabas.com.kw

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 14, 2010 (AFP) - Kuwait's parliament gave its initial approval on Thursday to a four-year 129-billion-dollar (89-billion-euro) economic development plan.

The plan, the first since 1986, includes such mega projects as parts of a new business hub called Silk City and estimated to cost 77 billion dollars, a major container harbour and a 25-kilometre (16-mile) causeway.

It also includes a railway and metro system, new cities and additional spending on infrastructure, particularly in the health and education sectors.

The ultimate goal of the plan, which extends from the current fiscal year to 2013/2014, is to turn Kuwait into a regional trade and financial centre, said deputy premier for economic affairs Sheikh Ahmad Fahad al-Sabah.

The second and final vote is scheduled to take place after at least two weeks.

Sheikh Ahmad said the plan aims to boost the role of private business in the state-dominated economy in which the public sector controls almost three- quarters of the Gross Domestic Product.

The plan also stipulates increased spending in the oil sector, the country's lifeline, to raise crude oil production capacity and modernise oil facilities.

The Gulf state has been vying to diversify its economy, in which oil revenues contribute about 94 percent of total state income.

Political bickering that has rocked Kuwait over the past few years has delayed many development projects, however.

Kuwait has amassed huge foreign assets in the past decade on the back of high oil prices. These assets are estimated at about 230 billion dollars and are mostly located abroad.

Kuwait, which says it holds 10 percent of global crude reserves, pumps about 2.2 million barrels per day.


© Copyright AFP 2010.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidANA20100114T141545ZTSB15

I really wonder how long this approval will last. lol

well i think everybody approved this from the emir to the parliment,, but we'll see :P lol

But they already approved the city of Silk project 12 or 18 months ago in parliament..

Do they really have to re-approve it as part of an even bigger project??

no B!! they approved city of silk in Municipal majles, not the parliament, and this plan is like for all kuwait which includes everything not only the city of silk, they should present their plans to the parliament so the members would see the development and work on the projects with more transparency apparently. lol

I have a question.. I heard Kuwait has sort of a problem of land scarcity.. Is that true!?

I mean, what i heard is, although the land/country is big enough, much of it is like oil fields.. And maybe some is not exactly investment-worthy, becasue of being close to the Iraqi border or something.. Is that true!?

If so.. Do u think Kuwait will resort to reclaiming the sea like Bahrain, sometime in the not too far future perhaps..? :)

Cuz, even that huge island, not failaka i think, the other, would need 'istisla7' if it is to be built upon n stuff..

So is there a problem of Land scarcity!? and what potential plans does the government have to deal with this problem..!?

I have a question.. I heard Kuwait has sort of a problem of land scarcity.. Is that true!?

I mean, what i heard is, although the land/country is big enough, much of it is like oil fields.. And maybe some is not exactly investment-worthy, becasue of being close to the Iraqi border or something.. Is that true!?

If so.. Do u think Kuwait will resort to reclaiming the sea like Bahrain, sometime in the not too far future perhaps..? :)

Cuz, even that huge island, not failaka i think, the other, would need 'istisla7' if it is to be built upon n stuff..

So is there a problem of Land scarcity!? and what potential plans does the government have to deal with this problem..!?

Yes and no. If you go to the following website (http://www.moo.gov.kw/Default.aspx?pageId=49), it will give you a general idea of where the oilfields are. It is true that the lands available around current inhabited areas are slowly becoming scare. But what about the areas just behind these fields?

From the info that I do have, there is a lot of pressure from the wealthy landowners in Kuwait to limit the development of new areas. For if they develop these lands, the prices of the existing properties will definitely come down.

Ah, ok.. Thanx.. So i guess its not a huge issue.. They're just 'afraid' of investing in some new land far away from kuwait city or something..

They should use all those extra/surplus billions to make like a brand new huge-ass city in the middle of the desert :) like the Madinat al Harrir which we're still waiting for.. hehe..

I mean you hear of huge residential projects in Qatar (the pearl), Saudi (lots of knowledge and economic cities planned), Bahrain (Durrat, amwaj, diyaar, northern town), Oman (blue/zarqaa city), and the UAE... But, i'm not familiar with any such projects in Kuwait, except for maybe city of silk which hasn't materialized yet...

Its a shame..

KUWAIT'S BURGAN BANK COMPLETES PURCHASE OF TUNIS BANK
KUWAIT, June 28 (NNN-KUNA) -- Kuwait's Burgan Bank has completed the purchase of the Tunis International Bank (TIB) from the United Gulf Bank (UGB).

The deal, which is part of Burgan Bank's regional expansion strategy, involves the purchase of Jordan Kuwait Bank, Gulf Bank, Gulf Bank Algeria, Bank of Baghdad and Tunis International Bank for a total of USD 725 million (KD 194 million), Burgan Bank Chairman Majed Al Ajeel said in a release Sunday.

"We are delighted to have completed the first stage of our regional expansion strategy by the acquisition of Tunis International Bank," he said.

"This deal further extends our presence in North Africa and gives us a unique opportunity to develop our banking activity in Tunisia. The deal also marks the completion of the first stage in our aggressive regional expansion strategy and we are delighted with the progress our regional banking network is making," he added.

For his part, United Gulf Bank Chief Executive Officer David Rhodes, said: "We are delighted that we have now completed the agreement with Burgan Bank for the sale of our regional operations."

"The deal will allow us to move forward with our new business plan and is a catalyst for our development as one of the region's leading investment banks and asset management companies," he added.

Burgan Bank is a subsidiary of KIPCO (Kuwait Projects Company). The youngest and most dynamic commercial bank in Kuwait, established in 1977, the Bank has acquired a leading role in the retail, corporate and investment banking sector through innovative product offers and technologically advanced delivery channels. http://namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=125164

KUWAIT, BRAZIL AGREE ON ESTABLISHING JOINT INVESTMENT COMPANY
BRASILIA, July 25 (NNN-KUNA) -- Kuwait and Brazil agreed on establishment of a joint investment company, said Board Member of Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Sayer Al-Sayer here.

Al-Sayer said late on Saturday, after a banquet held by Brazil's President in the honor of His Highness the Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, that the two countries agreed on preparing "an initial study for the establishment of the company."

He said the aim of the company will be to boost economic relations between Kuwait and Brazil, adding that it would also have positive effect on trade exchange between Kuwait and Brazil.
Brazil is rich in oil, agricultural resources and livestock, he pointed out, noting that the country is due to host several crucial international events, namely international Olympic games and the World Soccer Cup -- events that will contribute to reviving the national economy and impact in particular on the private sector, he noted.

The two countries will form a joint committee to prepare studies on the issue, he said, alluding to the accord.

As part of His Highness the Prime Minister's tour in Latin America, th KCCI is seeking to stress economic ties with the regional counties.

Al-Sayer is heading KCCI's delegation accompanying His Highness the Prime Minister. http://namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=128047

توقيع عقد خطة العاصمة عام2030
2010/08/03


http://www.alwatan.com.kw/resources/media/images/47587_o.png

وقع وزير الأشغال ووزير الدولة لشؤون البلدية د. فاضل صفر عقد الخطة العمرانية لمدينة الكويت لعام 2030 بقيمة تصل الى مليون و286ألف دينار.
وقال صفر ان المشروع يهدف الى وضع خطة مستقبلية متكاملة لتطوير المدينة وتحويلها الى مركز مالي وتجاري عالمي، من خلال مشاريع عدة وشبكة طرق حديثة، وأشار الى دراسات سيتم اجراؤها لمختلف استعمالات أراضي المدينة تشمل اشتراطات التنمية بصفة عامة، واشتراطات أخرى لكل مشروع على حدة، متضمنة ساحات خضراء وحدائق وممرات للمشاة ومواقف للسيارات وخدمات النقل السريع

to watch the video (http://www.alwatan.com.kw/photopopup.aspx?ArtId=46429&Id=47614)

www.alwatan.com.kw

ISLAMIC BANKING ACCOUNTS FOR 35 PER CENT OF KUWAIT'S TOTAL BANKING ASSETS - KFH
KUWAIT, Sept 27 (NNN-KUNA) -- The Islamic banking sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states grows by 20 per cent a year representing 17 per cent of the total assets of the banking industry in the region, according to a report said here.

Kuwait ranked first among the GCC countries in terms of total assets while Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have risen among the countries that promote Islamic finance products and services, the report issued by KFH Research Ltd -- the Islamic investment research arm of Kuwait Finance House (KFH) -- revealed.

The Islamic banking industry accounted for 35 per cent of the total banking assets of Kuwait and about 17 per cent of the GCC banking system total assets as a whole. It is expected that this industry will to continue to grow at an annual average rate of 15 - 20 per cent, should four main factors, including the regulatory framework, increase in the GDP and government development plans, continue to drive growth rates forward and add momentum represented in increased demand and further expansion of related areas of business.

The report pointed out that there are many opportunities still available for Islamic finance solutions in the region where real estate finance tops other areas of interest prevalent in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Over the years, the GCC's Islamic banking sector has witnessed remarkable growth in business and tremendous demand for its products and services. The share of Islamic banking sector continued to increase to account for around 16.6 per cent of the region's banking system's total assets as at end-March 2010.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE emerged as the two largest markets for Islamic banking in the GCC, with total assets of full-fledged Islamic banks accounting for 27.4 per cent and 27.0 per cent, respectively, of the region's total Islamic banking assets.

The GCC's Islamic banking is currently at the heart of the Islamic banking industry, with some of the world's largest Islamic banks originating from the region. This includes Al Rajhi Bank in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait Finance House in Kuwait with total assets amounting to a staggering USD 46.0 billion and USD 40.4 billion respectively, as at end-1Q 10.

In terms of the share of Islamic banking industry by country, Kuwait's Islamic banking sector accounted for 34.3 per cent of the country's total banking assets, followed by Qatar (19.3 per cent), Saudi Arabia (15.9 per cent), the UAE (14.0 per cent), and Bahrain (10.9 per cent).

The Banker Top 500 Islamic Institutions reported that the GCC's Islamic banks' total assets contributed over USD 350 billion or 43.0 per cent of total global Islamic banking assets in 2009, and this is expected to trend higher on the back of increased demand for Islamic banking products and services in the region.

To meet the growing needs of Sharia-compliant financing in the region, most conventional banks have either opened a new subsidiary or introduced an Islamic window within the existing infrastructure. A few banks have also converted themselves into Islamic banks such as Dubai Bank in the UAE and Saudi Bank in Bahrain.

In 2009, the Central Bank of Kuwait gave the green light for the Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East to fully convert into an Islamic bank.

In terms of financing, opportunities for Islamic banks in the GCC include residential mortgages, underpinned by a high level of demand for home mortgages within the local market.

In the UAE, around 70 per cent of investors require a mortgage to finance their property purchase. Elsewhere in Saudi Arabia, the passing of a new mortgage law is expected to encourage commercial bank mortgage lending.

Several banks have already started to offer Sharia-compliant home financing with tenures extending up to 25 years.

In general, the Islamic banking industry in the GCC is expected to remain strong moving forward, growing by 15 -20 per cent year-on-year in 2010, underpinned by the following factors: Robust supervisory and regulatory framework, and stable banking system with comparatively strong funding and capital positions; The region's high GDP (PPP) per capita at USD 27,937, coupled with its young population (30 per cent of the population falls under 15 years and 66.7 per cent of the population is between 15-64 years of age) which will help prod consumer spending and investment, thus increasing demand for Islamic financial products and services; And the governments' various development plans to diversify their respective economy, according to the report.

This will create growth opportunities for Islamic banks to further expand their project financing portfolios. The existence of financial centres in Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE, as well as a number of Islamic finance organisations such as the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, Liquidity Management Centre, and the International Islamic Financial Market will continue to attract new players to the region and further propel the Islamic banking industry to greater heights. http://namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=134491

KCCI receives German business delegation
KUWAIT: A German trade delegation promised closer ties with Kuwaiti companies following their visit to the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) yesterday. The delegation headed by Dr Klaus Hachmeier was received by officials of the chamber along with their members and several Kuwaiti business people, "We are here to renew and strengthen our trade and investment ties with you once again.

We really have established positive contact ever since. We want relations to strengthen and intensify further," he said. Hachmeier, German representative of the Federal Ministry of Economic and Technology, noted that the presence of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in Germany last April was a testament to "our strong and lasting relationships," he added.

Ali Muhamad Thunayan Al-Ghanim, KCCI Chairman welcomed the delegation. It lauded Kuwait and German trade exchanges which dates back from generations, "German trade is known everywhere, and in fact in Kuwait, you are our number one trade and investment partner. We shall continue to be your partner at any given time.

We always wanted better dialogue and discussion in terms of strengthening our business," he said. The German business delegation comprises company executives and owners who represent computer technology and medical services businesses. Al-Ghanim mentioned that business concerns will be addressed when talks are held with Kuwaiti businessmen. The group will also visit its counterparts.http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTE2ODcxNzA3

ميد: مناقصات بمليارات الدولارات لتحضير بنية تحتية رياضية في الكويت

ذكرت مجلة ميد أن الكويت تطرح الآن مناقصات تصميم تساوي مليارات الدولارات لأعمال بنية تحتية رياضية ستمكنها من استضافة الألعاب الأولمبية مستقبلاً.
وأضافت المجلة أن البلاد تمشي على خطى عدد من جاراتها التي تخطط لاستثمار مبالغ طائلة من رؤوس أموالها للفوز باستضافة أحداث رياضية كبيرة.
من جهتها دعت المؤسسة العامة للرعاية السكنية تسع شركات استشارية محلية للتأهل من أجل مناقصة تصميم قرية أولمبية في مشروع تطوير مدينة صباح الأحمد في محافظة الأحمدي.
وستشمل القرية الأولمبية عدداً من المنشآت الرياضية أكبرها سيكون الاستاد الذي يستوعب ما بين 70 ألفا إلى 80 ألف شخص. وسيغطي الاستاد، ذو الاستخدامات المتعددة، مساحة تصل إلى 10 آلاف متر مربع إلى جانب حمام سباحة يغطي مساحة تصل إلى 6500 متر مربع.
ومن الشركات التي تأهلت للمشروع: شركة صالح القلاف للاستشارات الهندسية و «كيو للاستشارات العالمية» و «الجزيرة للاستشارات»، وشركة يونيتك.
تعليقاً على الأمر تقول «ميد» إن أي أحد من اللجنة الأولمبية الكويتية لم يكن متواجداً للتعليق على ما إذا كانت المركز الرياضي المقترح هو جزء من خطط لاستضافة الحدث في المستقبل أم لا. وقال أحد المستشارين في الكويت إنه لا توجد لديه أدنى فكرة عما إذا كانت الكويت تخطط لاستضافة الأولمبياد، فالمشروع ظل مهملاً لفترة طويلة.
مضيفاً أن شركة إس إس إتش إنترناشيونال الهندسية فازت بعقد عام 1988لتصميم قرية أولمبية، لكن غزو البلاد عام 1990حال دون إكمال الفكرة، ويبدو أن المشروع عاد للأضواء من جديد.

http://www.alqabas.com.kw

KUWAIT SATISFIED AT LEVEL OF OIL PRICES - MINISTER OF OIL
KUWAIT, Nov 1 (NNN-KUNA) -- Kuwait, one of the world's top producers of crude oil, has announced its satisfaction at the current level of oil prices of USD 70-85 per barrel.

These prices are likely to remain unchanged till the end of this year, said Minister of Oil and Information Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah al-Sabah in a statement Sunday.

"We are satisfied at the current prices of the crude," said the minister in his statement, made on sidelines of a financial forum held here.

The price of the Kuwaiti crude has been in the range of USD 78 pb. Last Wednesday, it dropped to USD 77.65 pb from USD 77.83 pb on Tuesday.

Kuwait's current oil prices are still within the OPEC target, of between USD 70 and USD 80 pb.

The north Gulf country, which depends heavily on oil for income, has recently upped its fleet of oil tankers to 20. http://namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=137959

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المشروعات السياحية تزيد رأسمالها إلى 50 مليون دينار وتعتزم إنشاء 16 مشروعاً جديداً


كتب سامي وادي:
قال نائب رئيس مجلس الادارة والعضو المنتدب لشركة المشروعات السياحية، خالد عبدالله الغانم ان الهيئة العامة للاستثمار وشركة النقل العام اقرتا خلال الجمعية العمومية العادية وغير العادية التي عقدت امس زيادة رأسمال «المشروعات السياحية» بواقع 35 مليون دينار الى 50 مليون دينار، وذلك لتنفيذ استراتيجية الشركة المعتمدة للفترة من العام 2011 الى العام 2015.

واوضح الغانم خلال المؤتمر الصحافي عقب انعقاد الجمعية ان الشركة تعتزم انشاء نحو 16 مشروعا تلبي احتياجات شرائح المجتمع لسد النقص في تنشيط السياحة الداخلية من مراس بحرية، ومنتزهات مشابهة للخيران السياحي، ومشاريع خاصة بالشباب لقتل اوقات فراغهم وتغطية طموحاتهم لممارسة الرياضة وبخاصة العنيفة بالاضافة الى مشاريع لتغطية احتياجات العائلة والاطفال، لافتا الى ان الشركة قامت بتحديد بعض المشاريع المستقبلية ومن المتوقع الانتهاء من بعضها خلال العام الجاري، والبعض الآخر خلال السنوات المقبلة حيث تم الانتهاء من دراسة بعضها وجار العمل على استخراج التراخيص اللازمة من الجهات المعنية، ومنها مشروع للشباب للرياضات المثيرة بتكلفة تقديرية من 5 الى 5.5 ملايين دينار في شريط الحزام الاخضر، ويتوقع الحصول على الموافقات الرسمية خلال اسبوعين من بلدية الكويت والمجلس البلدي لافتا الى ان توجه «المشروعات السياحية» لإقامة المشاريع المغطاة يأتي لتجنب تقلبات المناخ التي تتحكم في مواعيد التشغيل مثل الغبار وارتفاع درجات الحرارة.

رسوم الخدمات

واشار الغانم الى ان الشركة تدرس زيادة رسوم الخدمات خلال الفترة المقبلة نظرا لزيادة اجمالي مصروفات التشغيل التي ارتفعت بنسبة تتراوح من %25 الى %27 ولم يكن للشركة اي دراسة مسبقة لهذه الزيادة الخارجة عن ارداتها والتي نتجت عن ارتفاع اجور العاملين المترتبة على قانون العمل الجديد وزيادة الامتيازات والعائد على استخدام الاراضي ورسوم الكهرباء والماء، وارتفاع مصاريف الصيانة وقطع الغيار وغيرها مما زاد من التكلفة التشغيلية التي تشكل عبئا على البيانات المالية.

خصخصة المشروعات

واستبعد الغانم خصخصة المشروعات السياحية لانها عملية معقدة نظرا للعقد المبرم بين الشركة وادارة املاك الدولة بتاريخ 2009/4/28 الذي يجيز للشركة استخدام الاراضي وادارتها لخدمة قطاع السياحة الداخلية وبالتالي فان تلك الاراضي غير قابلة للبيع او التنازل، مع السماح بالتعاون مع القطاع الخاص للمرونة خاصة في تلك المشاريع الضخمة للمشاركة في البناء والادارة المتخصصة، الامر الذي تدرس معه المشروعات السياحية الدخول في نظام الاوفست لمثل هذه المشاريع الكبيرة.

هيئة السياحة
وشدد الغانم على اهمية استكمال البنية التحتية وتهيئة المناخ ودراسة الاحتياجات الفعلية قبل انشاء هيئة لتنظيم قطاع السياحة حتى لا نحكم على الهيئة بالاعدام قبل انشائها لافتا الى ان هناك تعاونا مثمرا مع قطاع السياحة التابع لوزارة التجارة والصناعة بالمشاركة في المهرجانات المختلفة وحضور المعارض الا انه يتمنى وجود رؤية واضحة، ومعايير واسس عمل القطاع السياحي حتى يكون هناك نقاط التقاء التي يمكن التعاون معها.
وذكر الغانم انه نتيجة لتحقيق الاهداف المرصودة فقد واصلت الشركة اداءها المتميز في تحقيق معدلات ممتازة سواء في مركزها المالي او نتيجة نشاطها، حيث بلغ مجمل الارباح 5.642 ملايين دينار مقارنة بمبلغ 4.987 ملايين لعام 2009 بنسبة ارتفاع قدرها %13.14 على الرغم من المتغيرات الاقتصادية العالمية وتأثيرها في الكويت بوجه خاص بينما بلغ صافي الارباح لسنة 2010 مبلغ 683 الف دينار منخفضة عن عام 2009 بمعدل %25.8 وذلك بسبب الزيادة التي طرأت على الرواتب من جراء تطبيق القوانين واللوائح الخاصة بالعاملين.

www.alwatan.kuwait.tt

Its good to see the a bunch of projects underway in Kuwait. Its bad to see the inflated price of land. A small plot in the city goes for 5 million dollars.
Residential plot of about 400 meters squared is 1 million dollars.
Statistically it is one of the highest price wise in the world per meter. This is not Miami.

The inflated prices have led to a real estate monopoly. There are 3 companies with access to all the new developments.

In order for a private Real estate company to emerge in Kuwait. They must get permission of the ministry to acquire a construction license. However, those giving permission are the competition. Next, you have to buy the plot in full at inflated prices, and every building is required to have a parking structure, which is additional land. There is no way to rebuilt infrastructure because it is a government sector, as well. So you will having a nice building which you paid double and terrible infrastructure around it.

Its not very logical to build in Kuwait at the moment. It is not a free market yet.