KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait will issue billions of dollars worth of bonds in international markets to finance a budget deficit resulting from low oil prices, a report said Saturday.
Finance Minister Anas al-Saleh said Kuwait will issue US dollar-denominated sovereign bonds of up to $9.6 billion during the 2016/2017 fiscal year which ends March 31, Al-Qabas newspaper reported.
This comes on top of a $6.6 billion domestic debt programme which is already underway.
Kuwait, like other energy-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, has already taken on tens of billions of dollars in foreign debt to finance budget shortfalls.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and United Arab Emirates have sold bonds or took syndicated loans to plug their deficits.
The minister’s decree did not specify the share of Islamic sukuk bonds in the planned issue.
It will be the country’s first foreign debt in around two decades.
Kuwait recorded a budget deficit of $15 billion last fiscal year, breaking a 16-year run of surpluses.
