Solid purchasing power helps Kuwait ward off economic slowdown: Expert

Solid purchasing power helps Kuwait ward off economic slowdown: Expert

By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: The world has been witnessing an economic slowdown in the past few years due to the coronavirus pandemic, price hikes due to the Russian-Ukrainian war and the temporary closure of important global markets such as China. As a result of these economic and political crises, several global reports indicate that the world is going through an economic slowdown or recession. But how does this affect the Kuwaiti market? Does purchasing power help prevent the effects of this slowdown in the local market?

Kuwait Times discussed the issue with financial expert Maitham Al-Shakhs. He clarified the economy in Kuwait does not depend on the private sector as a source of income, as the public sector is the main supporter of the economy and the country’s revenues, which relies on the oil sector for more than 90 percent of its income. “Therefore, there will not be a huge negative effect from the private sector on the total local economy, even if there is a slowdown or decrease in some economic fields,” he said.

“Kuwait doesn’t have heavy industries and most of the consumables are imported from abroad. Some sectors participate in the country’s GDP such as agriculture, but we can’t define