S&P Downgrades Kuwait Rating; Outlook Negative
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baseball Page 14 THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT markets Established in 1977 / www.arabtimesonline.com Page 9 SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2021 / ZUL-HIJJAH 8, 1442 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17742 16 PAGES 150 FILS LACK OF COMPREHENSIVE FUNDING STRATEGY FOR DEFICIT S&P downgrades Kuwait rating; outlook negative Institutional roadblocks present risks DUBAI, July 17: On July 16, 2021, S&P Global Rat- At the same time, they revised their transfer and convertibility assessment ings lowered its long-term foreign- and local-currency to ‘AA-’ from ‘AA’. The negative outlook primarily reflects risks over the next 12-24 months sovereign credit ratings on Kuwait to ‘A+’ from ‘AA-’. relating to the government’s ability to overcome the institutional roadblocks The outlook remains negative. preventing it from implementing a financing strategy for future deficits. The rating agency also lowered its short-term foreign and local cur- S&P could lower the ratings if elevated central government deficits per- Muslim pilgrims run at a special part between the two hills of Al-Safa and Al-Mar- rency sovereign credit ratings to ‘A-1’ from ‘A-1+’. sisted over the medium term, with still no sustainable comprehensive financ- wah, to commemorate Lady Hagar’s search for water for her son and herself, at the ing arrangements agreed. This Grand Mosque, a day before the annual Hajj pilgrimage, July 17. (AP) could happen, for instance, as a result of continued confronta- tion between the government and Special measures for Hajj Call for strategy after rating cut parliament rendering the govern- ment unable to implement fiscal Managers of pilgrimage companies have been informed by the authorities By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh reforms, pass the debt law, or authorize other sources of budget have affirmed that forthcoming pilgrim- about the extraordinary precautions and Arab Times Staff age will be easy amid extraordinary have trained their staff on observing the financing. health measures planned by the author- special measures. KUWAIT CITY, July 17: Chair- “We could revise the outlook ities to safeguard the pilgrims. Al-Haqbani said pilgrims must erect man of the parliamentary Financial to stable if the authorities dem- The Saudi authorities have decided to their tents in Mina, Muzadalifa and on and Economic Affairs Committee onstrated a track record of struc- restrict the annual Hajj to pilgrims from Mount Arafat four meters apart. The dev- MP Ahmed Al-Hamad comment- tural reform implementation that inside the Kingdom as one of the precau- otees will be provided with packaged food ed on the downgrading of Kuwait addressed Kuwait’s long-term tions against the novel coronavirus (CO- and will be banned from eating in groups. by Standard and Poors to A+ with funding needs, enhanced policy- VID-19). Only 60,000 pilgrims will be al- Dr. Mohammad Shukri, manager of a a negative outlook. making, and improved economic lowed to perform the rituals at the sacred company for serving pilgrims, said the prospects,” S&P explained. sites amid the anti-virus precautions. extraordinary measures will be effected He said Kuwait needs a compre- Abdulrahman Al-Haqbani, the chair- in the pilgrims’ transports, housing and hensive and clear financial strategy Rationale based on practical and scientific person of the coordination council of the performing the religious services. The downgrade reflects the per- internal pilgrims services companies, He indicated that the relevant authori- grounds. said in remarks to KUNA that the pil- ties and the services companies have Al-Hamad affirmed the current sistent lack of a comprehensive grims to be allowed to perform the Hajj been coordinating online and via appli- financial position of Kuwait is funding strategy despite the cen- are of 150 nationalities. cations to regulate the pilgrims’ move- strong and its classification must tral government’s ongoing sizable The pilgrims’ services companies ment. (KUNA) improve in the coming period. deficits. Due to parliamentary op- He disclosed the Kuwaiti Sover- position, the government has so eign Fund recently witnessed re- far been unable to pass a law giv- markable progress, indicating the ing it the authority to issue debt Future Generations Fund ranked or gain immediate access to its Opinion third globally in 2021 according large stock of accumulated assets. to Bloomberg and the assets of the The pace of structural reforms in fund reached $700 billion. He add- Kuwait also remains sluggish: ed Kuwait Investment Authority is the long-discussed adoption of one of the largest sovereign funds new taxes and broad expenditure adjustments has largely stalled. Kuwaitis riled, government in terms of global investment, indi- We consider that these persistent cating the Kuwaiti Sovereign Fund delays could ultimately leave Ku- ranked fourth internationally - an Lebanese soldiers hide from stones behind their protective shield as they wait more vulnerable to potential is ‘living on another planet’ implication of the high revenues future terms-of-trade shocks. achieved in 2021. clash with supporters of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri who stepped down on Thursday in Beirut, Lebanon, July 15. Hariri says he is stepping We estimate that in the He revealed the Kuwaitis ranked 2020/2021 fiscal year (ending third among the GCC citizens in down, nine months after he was named to the post by the parliament. He is citing ‘key differences’ with the country’s President, Michel Aoun. (AP) March 2021) Kuwait ran a cen- By Ahmed Al-Jarallah In the beginning of the pandemic, the share of national income ac- tral government deficit of 33% cording to How Much website. He Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times the Minister of Health introduced to of GDP, the highest ratio of all us the “Kuwait Mosafer” app. How- added that the average annual in- sovereigns we rate globally. Oil THE government will emerge from come of a Kuwaiti citizen reached prices have recovered substantial- ever, this app has further complicated $68,000 - ninth globally. Microsoft blocks the COVID-19 pandemic crisis with matters, and imposed fees on citizens, Newswatch ly from last year’s lows, and we a lot of failures and confusion in its He also emphasized the need expect Kuwait’s oil exports to in- who were stranded at the airports of to adopt a clear strategy with the decisions. This brings to mind the the world, in what is an unconstitu- crease as OPEC+ production cuts contibution of national experts to KUWAIT CITY: His Highness Israeli spy tools question that the late Amir Sheikh tional procedure. are gradually discontinued. Even maintain economic stability. the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al- so, we forecast Kuwait’s central Saad Al-Abdullah, when he was the Even in the state of emergency, a Meanwhile, MP Bader Al- Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah re- RICHMOND, Va., July 17, (AP): Microsoft government deficits will average citizen has the right to return to his Humaidi holds the Directorate turned home on Saturday after a said Thursday it has blocked tools developed 17% of GDP over 2021-2024. We used to ask whenever a crisis worsens or her country in any circumstance. General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) private visit abroad. by an Israeli hacker-for-hire company that - “Where are we heading to?”. estimate the fiscal breakeven oil However, due to “deafness”, the wise responsible for the repercussions Upon arrival, His Highness the were used to spy on more than 100 people price currently at over $90 per bar- His Highness the Prime Minister government paid no attention, and did of the decision to prevent citizens Amir was received by His High- around the world, including politicians, hu- Sheikh rel (/bbl), which is substantially has abandoned the affairs of Ku- not move a fi nger to stop this farce. who are more than 75 years old ness the Crown Prince man rights activists, journalists, academics above our medium-term oil price waitis, who continue to burn under Unfortunately, this app, despite its from traveling. Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber and political dissidents. Al-Sabah, National Assembly assumptions (see “S&P Global the fi re of the government that seems complexities, is still imposed on eve- He said the DGCA is passing Microsoft issued a software update and Ratings Raises Short-Term Oil to have lost its bearing, in the hands the responsibility to travel agencies Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim, ryone. No one knows who benefi ts Senior Sheikhs, and His High- worked with the Citizen Lab at the University And Gas Price Assumptions On of the ministers by avoiding account- from it, or where the money obtained although it is the one that issued ness Sheikh Nasser Moham- of Toronto to investigate the secretive Israeli Improving Market Conditions,” ability in the event that any action from these procedures go. the decision. He added the DGCA mad Ahmad Al-Sabah, His company behind the hacking efforts. Citizen published on June 16, 2021). is taken that does not please certain All countries of the world have disregarded the fact that the deci- Highness the Prime Minister Lab said the company goes by several names In recent years the government MPs, and upsets Kuwaitis. started adapting to the pandemic. sion causes problems to citizens Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Ham- including Candiru, which according to legend has, on multiple occasions, com- Everyone rejoiced when the Britain has lifted all restrictions, as and it seems unaware that many ad Al-Sabah, and senior state of- is a parasitic fish found in the Amazon that municated its intention to accel- Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of well as France, the United States, citizens cannot install ‘Musafer’ fi cials. (KUNA) attacks human private parts. erate the momentum of fiscal re- Defense and Chairman of the COV- application because they are using ❑ ❑ ❑ Microsoft said people targeted in “preci- form, but actual progress remains Italy, and Russia, even though new old style mobile phones.