Future Fund revenue up 33%; Reserve depleting – ARAB TIMES – KUWAIT NEWS – Arab Times Kuwait English Daily

Future Fund revenue up 33%; Reserve depleting – ARAB TIMES – KUWAIT NEWS – Arab Times Kuwait English Daily

Financial position ‘very strong’, Minister says

KUWAIT CITY, July 1, (Agencies): Kuwait’s financial position is “very strong” and propped up by the “Future Generations” reserve fund, the country’s finance minister said on Thursday, pointing out that the fund has seen exponential growth as of late. The fund has achieved a 33-percent increase in revenue, eclipsing the performances of similar sovereign funds around the world, Khalifa Hamada, who doubles as Minister of State for Economic and Investment Affairs, said in a statement, adding that growth should remain steady for as long as 20 years. The growth in the “Future Generations” fund’s revenue in the last five years even surpassed oil revenues in the same period, the minister added, attributing the fund’s “historic growth” to the “competence and professionalism” of those overseeing it. The state treasury’s liquid assets were “completely exhausted” last summer as a result of “mounting expenditure,” he said, listing a raft of liquidity measures worth USD 23 billion the country had taken to keep financial stability intact.