Kuwait eyes ambitious reforms
Sovereign wealth fund head warns investors reduce US exposure at their 'own risk'
KUWAIT/DOHA: Minister of Commerce and Industry Khalifa Al-Ajeel affirmed on Wednesday that the government is working to implement ambitious economic policies aimed at restructuring the national economy, achieving diversification and facilitating the business environment. This came in a speech delivered by Al-Ajeel during the opening of the Kuwait's New Era conference, organized by the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority in cooperation with The Business Year group.
The one-day conference brought together a select group of economic leaders and decision-makers from various sectors. In light of these policies, a set of laws and legislation recently implemented by the government were issued, such as the public debt law, which aims to rationalize financing tools and support the country's financial sustainability, as well as the real estate developer law, which will propel the real estate, banking and investment sectors to new levels of growth and development, the minister added.
Al-Ajeel pointed to qualitative initiatives and projects that were recently launched, such as the smart license project, the office licenses merger system and amendments to the companies law, as these policies are directly reflected in developing and improving the business environment in Kuwait. 'These government reforms have had an impact on all of the country's economic indicators,' the minister emphasized.
Prior to any of these reforms, Kuwait's GDP had witnessed a notable 4 percent growth in non-oil sectors, indicating a real beginning in diversifying sources of income and reducing reliance on traditional resources. He pointed out that the country has witnessed a significant influx of international investments into sectors such as technology, renewable energy and infrastructure, reflecting the extent of foreign investor confidence in Kuwait as a stable and ambitious investment hub.
Al-Ajeel stressed that the government looks to the future with confidence, treats challenges as opportunities and is confidently moving toward building a new Kuwaiti economic model, one that believes in partnership, champions modernity and invests in people above all else. Speakers at the conference addressed a number of economic and strategic topics, including national efforts to revive stalled projects and accelerate the implementation of major development projects such as the Al-Zour Refinery, the national railway and Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, thus strengthening infrastructure and consolidating the foundations of sustainable development.
Meanwhile, the head of the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), which manages almost $1 trillion in assets, said the sovereign wealth fund is committed to investing in the US and that investors cut allocations to US assets at their own risk. Some global investors have ditched US assets in recent weeks on fears that US President Donald Trump's overhaul of global trade may hurt the US economy, and could cause deeper long-term damage.
The trend looks set to continue given a record number of managers said they planned to keep cutting their exposure to US assets, according to BofA research. Kuwait has been investing in the US market for a 'long time' and that 'won't change', KIA Managing Director Sheikh Saoud Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah said at an investment conference in the Qatari capital on Wednesday. 'I would say it very bluntly, underweight America at your own risk,' he said.
Last week, Moody's downgraded the US sovereign credit rating by one notch citing concerns about the nation's growing $36 trillion debt pile, which could make investors more cautious and drive up borrowing costs across the economy. 'They (investors) are merely looking at equity markets, but they're not taking into fact the US has the largest fixed income market, the US has the largest private equity market, the real estate market, infrastructure and credit,' Sheikh Saoud said. 'I think the US has the breadth and depth to sustain its exceptionalism and it has the rule of law as well,' he said. – Agencies
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