Kuwait has cut revenue expectations for the 2019-20 fiscal year (starting 1 April) amid lower oil prices and is projecting a whopping $27.4bn deficit. In reality, low oil price assumptions and Kuwait’s perennial inability to implement its spending plans mean that any budget deficit is likely to come in much smaller.
Taking 2018-19 as an example, the government budgeted for a massive $21.5bn deficit. But latest data for the first 11 months of the year shows that Kuwait had racked up a surplus of just over $10bn. Absent a major readjustment when the full year figures are released, this would represent Kuwait’s first surplus in five years. (CONTINUED - 986 WORDS)
