DFI will help create 1,000 new job openings in fiscal 2015/16 – Plan to reduce effects of fuel price hike on citizens

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KUWAIT CITY, Nov 20: Direct Foreign Investments (DFI) will help in ensuring 1,000 new employment opportunities in the 2015/2016 fiscal year through the introduction of 15 international companies into the Kuwait market.

The total value of the direct foreign investment for the year 2015/2016 is about KD 637 million, reports Al-Shahed daily quoting informed sources. They revealed that several economic authorities are seeking coordination among themselves to increase the number of companies that will invest in the local market concurrently with implementation of the objectives specified in the financial and economic reform document.

Meanwhile, an official from Ministry of Electricity and Water has refuted claims that the ministry intends to cancel the debts that citizens owe the ministry. He explained that a number of debtors are expecting cancellation of their debts which accumulated over the years when they failed to pay on time. This expectation resulted from rumors circulating in diwaniyas and social media about a surprise decision of the government to cancel debts and give grants, similar to the move made by the government few years ago when it cancelled KD 2,000 from the debts of citizens.

The official revealed that these debts are monies owed to the ministry, adding that those expecting the government’s surprise decision are in thousands and their accumulated debts reach millions of dinars. He affirmed that the debts will not be cancelled especially amid the reduction of subsidies and rationalization of expenditures.

The official said the ministry has already started taking punitive measures such as disconnecting water supply as preliminary steps towards disconnecting electricity supply. The supreme committee formed for following up execution of the procedures of economic reform document has prepared a plan to reduce the effect of fuel price increase on citizens, reports Al-Anba daily quoting high-ranking financial sources.

They explained that the plan mainly focuses on publishing statistics related to the fuel price following its increase in order to prove that the fuel prices in Kuwait are lesser than other countries even after the price hike. Meanwhile, the sources, in response to a question concerning mandating Kuwait Investment Authority to set up a comprehensive plan for privatization of sports clubs, affirmed that Kuwait Investment Authority has prepared the comprehensive plan and referred it to the Council of Ministers.

They indicated that the plan consists of proposals, recommendations, steps, phases, mechanisms and tools necessary to complete the privatization process of sports clubs. The sources explained that studies on this issue were completed in two stages – first by diagnosing the current conditions of the clubs and second for designing a model for Kuwait.

They said, “Accomplishing a certain model for Kuwait requires basic steps, mainly executing basic reform process through specific initiatives which are needed to confront the challenges and ensure its sustainability and continuity to achieve new aspiring plans”.

The privatization strategy, which was prepared by the US global management consulting company McKinsey & Company, consists of steps to complete the process of privatization of sports clubs, which are: maintaining the current administration structure of the clubs, outsourcing the investment activities to companies under the condition of maintaining the assets and capital such as government properties, changing the structure of clubs from association to company gradually after completing the privatization of the investment activities.

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