Dubai: Kuwait needs “optimal market conditions’’ for its planned international debt sale, Finance Minister Anas Al Saleh said, as the Opec member seeks to repair public finances squeezed by low oil prices.
“The intention is to establish Kuwait’s presence in the international sovereign debt market and build our borrowing capabilities for the future,’’ Al Saleh wrote in an e-mailed response to questions.
Kuwait plans to raise as much as $9.9 billion (Dh36.3 billion) from global debt markets to help finance a budget deficit that the International Monetary Fund estimates will reach 13.5 per cent of economic output in 2016. In 2015, Kuwait posted a surplus of 1.1 per cent, IMF data show.
“Kuwait intends to issue under the optimal market conditions, with the timing and structure to be agreed upon with our advisers,’’ Al Saleh said, without elaboration.
