Kuwait, (Business News Report)|| Kuwait’s foreign reserves fell significantly last December, amid pressures on liquidity due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Central Bank said that Kuwait’s foreign reserves decreased by 6.6% compared to December of the year 2020.
The monthly report of the bank stated that the reserve assets of Kuwait decreased to 13.68 billion dinars ($45.36 billion) in December. This is compared to 14.65 billion dinars ($48.58 billion) in the same month of 2020.
On a monthly basis, Kuwait’s reserves decreased by 2.77 percent in December, from 14.07 billion dinars ($46.65 billion) in the previous November.
The oil-rich country’s reserves included about 11.998 billion dinars ($39.78 billion) in deposits and currencies, 1.366 billion dinars ($4.52 billion) in special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Kuwait’s foreign reserve includes gold (amounting to 79 tons, calculated at book value since its purchase) at about 31.7 million dinars ($105.6 million) at the end of December.
The Kuwaiti economy is trying to recover from the repercussions of the Coronavirus pandemic crisis, taking advantage of the high oil prices, which represent more than 90% of government revenues.
Sovereign credit rating
Fitch has downgraded Kuwait’s sovereign credit rating from “A.A” to “A.A-“, with the future outlook changed from negative to stable.
Meanwhile, the downgrade reflects the ongoing political constraints that impede addressing the structural challenges related to oil dependence, according to Fitch.
In a related context, the volume of foreign direct investment in the State of Kuwait rose during the year 2020 to $46.3 billion.
A government report also stated that foreign investment in Kuwait increased by $3.4 billion during the year 2020 compared to the previous year.
According to the report, the increase amounted to 7.9% of the total balances of 2019, amounting to 12.98 billion dinars ($ 42.94 billion).
The Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, Rana Al-Faris, said that the completion of the third field survey of direct investment in the country for the year 2021 enhances decision-making support and the realization of the “New Kuwait 2035” vision.
