Finance Kuwait opens wealth fund office in Saudi Arabia Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund is to open an office in Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom turns to its Gulf neighbours to shore up flagging foreign investment in its giga-projects. Anwar al-Mudhaf, chairman of the Kuwait Investment Authority and Kuwait’s finance minister, praised Saudi Arabia as an investment location and as a key player in the […] June 28, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Qatar’s Ooredoo signs AI deal with chipmaker Nvidia US chipmaker Nvidia has signed a deal with Qatari telecommunications provider Ooredoo Group to bring its artificial intelligence technology to five countries in the Middle East, the companies announced on Sunday. Ooredoo will be the first company in the region to offer direct access to Nvidia’s AI and computer chips to its customers in Qatar, […] June 24, 2024
Markets Beyout becomes Kuwait’s first stock market listing in two years Beyout Investment Group rose 2.6 percent against its initial public offering price on its Boursa Kuwait debut on Wednesday as the family-owned business became the country’s first new stock market listing since 2022. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been home to a flurry of initial public offerings in the past few years as governments […] June 12, 2024
Infrastructure Kuwait loans Bahrain $102m for power grid expansion The state-backed Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development will provide funding of KD31.3 million ($102 million) to expand Bahrain’s power network. The loan will be used to expand the 400 kilovolt electricity transmission networks in Bahrain. The project aims to increase the capacity and efficiency of electricity transmission networks and power trading through the Gulf’s […] June 10, 2024
Finance Opec+ output cuts weigh on Kuwait’s economic growth Kuwait’s real GDP is expected to shrink by 2.3 percent in 2024 as a result of Opec+ production cuts, S&P said in a report. Economic growth is predicted to be 2.4 percent per year from 2025 to 2027 as oil production restrictions ease slightly and the pace of huge government investment projects accelerates. NewsletterGet the […] June 10, 2024
Economy Kuwaiti businesses struggling to meet demand as orders surge Businesses in Kuwait have accumulated huge backlogs of work and will need to increase capacity and staff levels to meet customer demand, according to ratings agency S&P Global. The monthly purchasing managers’ index (PMI) report for Kuwait revealed companies strengthened employment levels in a bid to satisfy “sharp and accelerated increases in new business” throughout […] June 7, 2024
Transport Kuwait City and Riyadh take first steps towards rail link Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have approved a feasibility study to investigate building a rail link between Kuwait City and Riyadh. The study was approved during the sixth meeting of the Kuwait-Saudi higher steering committee, Kuwait’s minister of public works and minister of state for municipal affairs Noura Al-Meshaan told the Kuwait News Agency on Thursday. […] May 31, 2024
Opinion Economy Kuwait’s political crisis adds to economic uncertainty The country's latest standoff is deeply concerning for both the near and long term May 20, 2024
Finance Kuwait’s Beyout targets $147m from IPO Kuwait’s Beyout Investment Group (BIG) has set the price of its initial public offering (IPO) between 480 and 500 fils per share. The company plans to raise up to KD45,000,000 ($147 million) by selling a 30 percent stake, or 90 million shares, on the local bourse, the first in nearly two years. The final offer […] May 20, 2024
Transport Earnings at Kuwait’s Agility rise 22% to $61m in 2024 Kuwait-based logistics specialist Agility said first-quarter 2024 earnings rose 22 percent year on year to KD18.7 million ($61 million) Revenue increased nearly 5 percent year on year to KD336 million, the company said in a statement published on Boursa Kuwait. The company reported an operating cash flow of KD26 million for the first quarter. Assets stood at […] May 17, 2024
Real Estate Kuwait’s Beyout Investment Group to list on local bourse Kuwait’s Beyout Investment Group (BIG) has announced plans to offer a 30 percent stake on the local bourse, the first in nearly two years. The final offering price will be determined through a bookbuilding process, which will be held from May 19 to 23, the company said in a statement. The shares are slated to […] May 15, 2024
Real Estate Kuwait signs $140m contracts for Al Metlaa development Kuwait’s Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) has signed two contracts worth KD42 million ($140 million) to construct public buildings in Al Metlaa, a new residential district north of Kuwait City. Nurseries, stores, schools and shops will be included, state news agency Kuna reported. Electricity connections have been provided for 109 buildings in the district, […] April 19, 2024
Infrastructure Iraq and Kuwait team up for European telecom corridor Iraq’s Informatics and Telecommunication Public Company, a division of the Ministry of Communications, has signed an agreement with Kuwait’s Zajil Telecom to create a telecommunications corridor from the Gulf region to Europe, transiting through Iraq and Turkey. The new route will pass through Iraqi sea and land ports. Iraq’s minister of communications Hayam Al-Yasiri said […] April 14, 2024
Trade Kuwait’s record performance tempered by costs Rising inflation and increasing staffing costs are weighing heavily on Kuwait’s non-oil business sector despite growth, the latest business sentiment survey has revealed. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global Kuwait purchasing managers’ index (PMI) revealed strong growth, with competitive pricing by businesses helping to attract new customers. The index was up at 53.2 for March from […] April 3, 2024
Real Estate Real estate broker licence numbers in Kuwait rise by 17% Almost 230 new licences were issued to land and property sales agents in Kuwait in 2023, bringing the total to 1,594 by the end of December, a 17 percent rise on 2022. Kuwait’s property sector is hoping that a new law allowing foreigners to buy will lead to increased business opportunities. A total of 228 […] March 21, 2024
Analysis Markets Gulf weightings increase on MSCI Emerging Markets The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has increased the weightings of Gulf countries since their inclusion on the benchmark, as regulators loosened rules and companies ease foreign ownership restrictions to make it easier to invest. According to MSCI, more than $1.3 trillion in assets under management (AuM) was benchmarked against its emerging markets indexes as of […] March 21, 2024
Analysis Renewable Energy Kuwait playing catch-up with latest renewables strategy Kuwait still has a way to go on its energy transition, industry experts say, despite the announcement of a 20-year renewables strategy. Salem Al-Hajraf, minister of electricity, water and renewable energy, said on March 7 that the country is targeting carbon neutrality by 2050. “We … need an increase in solar energy, which is considered […] March 20, 2024
Oil & Gas Kuwaiti oil major to buy 50% of Italian biodiesel producer The Italian subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), the international downstream subsidiary of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), has signed an agreement to purchase 50 percent of Eco Fox, an Italian biofuel producer. The deal will help develop, produce and distribute sustainable biofuels that will reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector, state-owned Kuna news […] March 18, 2024
Banking & Finance Gulf wealth funds put investing in US well ahead of China Most sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf remain heavily invested in the US, while China represents a much smaller part of their portfolios, data from the consultancy Global SWF shows. The data also shows that the portfolios of Gulf sovereign wealth funds vary widely in terms of their geographical distribution. This is partly a result […] March 8, 2024
Food & Drink Kuwait’s Alshaya lays off Mena Starbucks staff Kuwait’s Alshaya Group, one of the Gulf’s largest franchise owners, is cutting jobs at its Starbucks outlets. The coffee brand has suffered from calls for a boycott since the start of the Gaza conflict. “As a result of the continually challenging trading conditions over the last six months, we have taken the sad and very […] March 5, 2024
