Concern over plan to withdraw from Kuwait’s Future Generation Fund

Concern over plan to withdraw from Kuwait’s Future Generation Fund

By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: Former Managing Director of Kuwait Investment Authority Farouk Bastaki expressed concerns over reported plans by the government to withdraw from the Future Generations Fund after taking advantage of the General Reserve Fund during the previous period, especially since the price of a barrel of oil is expected to range between $50 and $60 in the next five years.

His statement came during one of the sessions of the Kuwait Financial Center Company (Markaz) conference under the title “Identifying Investment Opportunities in Light of Current Market Challenges”, which was moderated by Abd al-Latif Al-Nesf, Managing Director of Wealth Management and Business Development at Markaz, in the presence of a group of company’s experts and prestigious local and international institutions to discuss effective strategies for seizing opportunities in various markets.

During the session moderated by CEO of Markaz Ali Hassan Khalil, Bastaki said in light of oil prices reaching those levels, the budget deficit will reach KD 8 to KD 9 billion annually, so the solution may be to resort to withdrawing from the Future Generations Fund, wondering how many years it will hold up under this strain. He said the budget deficits during the past eight years collectively amount to