Kuwait is courting local and international banks to arrange up to KD6bn ($20bn) in loans according to a 23 June Bloomberg report. The move follows the passage of a debt law in March allowing up to KD30bn ($97bn) of borrowing, with bond maturities of up to 50 years under both Islamic and conventional finance instruments (MEES, 4 April).
The breakthrough in passing the long-delayed law was enabled by the dissolution of parliament last year. Unable to borrow in recent years, Kuwait depleted its General Reserve Fund (GRF) when the Covid-pandemic hit Kuwait’s economy hard. (CONTINUED - 161 WORDS)