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.

He pinpointed “rising oil prices” as a factor that helped provide adequate treasury liquidity, however, “scarcity” in liquidity remains a challenge, the minister highlighted, citing a four-year plan the government has put in place to set in motion a spate of financial and economic reforms.

On Kuwait’s credit rating, he said the country’s ranking remains “solid” thanks to the backup provided by the “Future Generations” fund, but more reforms are needed to boost treasury liquidity in the long run, the minister stressed.

“Financial reforms have now become a dire necessity,” he said, which behooves executive and legislative authorities alike to work closer together to bring this goal to fruition

Source: Kuwait News Agency