Fitch Ratings affirmed Kuwait's rating at AA-negative levels with a stable outlook, which will give a new impetus to the Kuwaiti authorities in order to proceed with the implementation of the economic recovery program despite the existing political differences regarding reform and diversification of income. The affirmation of the agency's experts constitutes the positive evaluation of all indicators, that "Fitch" supports the country's economy's defenses in the face of adverse global fluctuations, from which Kuwait benefited due to the increase in oil export revenues. The agency indicated that the main credit strengths in Kuwait are the exceptionally strong budget and foreign revenues. On the other hand, the main weaknesses are represented in the institutional inertia and political constraints on reforms that would address the financial and structural challenges resulting from the heavy dependence on oil and the public sector.
Fitch suggested that the Kuwaiti budget would remain among the strongest sovereign budgets it rates, despite the sharp fluctuations in oil prices since mid-2014. The current conditions will also help reduce government debt to less than 10 percent of GDP during the current fiscal year, which ends in late March.
Source (Al-Rai Kuwaiti Newspaper, Edited)
