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Kuwait projects $17bn deficit in 2018/2019 budget
Kuwait projects $17bn deficit
January 29, 2018 | 06:35 PM
Kuwait on Monday announced a state budget for the year ending on March 31, 2019, that projects spending at 20bn dinars ($66.7bn) and revenues at 15bn dinars. The Kuwaiti Finance Minister Nayef al-Hajraf said the budget would be based on an average oil price of $50 per barrel, and that the deficit would be financed by borrowing and using reserves.
The 5bn dinar deficit would be before the transfer of 10% of revenues to Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund.The budget deficit for the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2018, was estimated at 6.556bn dinars before the 10% deposit into the sovereign wealth fund, according to a calculation by Reuters.Hajraf said that subsidies are projected at 3.432bn dinars of the budget.The budget for the current fiscal year was estimated based on an oil price of $45.Oil revenues are expected to reach 13.3bn dinars, up from 11.7bn dinars a year ago. Non-oil income is projected to remain almost flat at 1.6bn dinars.
January 29, 2018 | 06:35 PM