Global financial crunch affecting GCC economies — Al-Shimali
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:19 amGlobal financial crunch affecting GCC economies — Al-Shimali
KUWAIT, Jan 31 (KUNA) — Kuwait’s Minister of Finance and Minister of Health Mustafa Al-Shimali said Tuesday the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries were badly affected by the global financial crisis due to their interrelations with the oil-importing Western countries.
“This impact highlights the basic feature of globalization which put all peoples at one and the same boat,” the minister said in an inaugural speech he delivered to the Global Economic Real Estate Conference on behalf of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
The gathering is organized by Kuwait Finance House (KFH) here with dozens of senior local and international politicians and economists attending.
“Despite the adverse effects of globalization, the State of Kuwait is implementing an ambitious economic development plan aiming to revive the private sector through a number of mega projects. The ultimate goal of the plan is to restore the country’s position as regional financial and commercial hub,” he pointed out.
“The government, represented by Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), has setup a local real estate portfolio with a capital of KD one billion, in order to take advantage of good investment opportunities,” he stated.
Al-Shimali added that those projects will unleash the abilities of the private sector and reinforce its role in the development process. He stressed that the conference has additional importance, since it is being held during challenging economic conditions. The conference coincides with the parliamentary elections that reinforce democracy, he said, adding that he looks forward to the recommendations that will be made during the conference to show the positive means that need to be followed to face the consequences of the financial crises and the turbulences in surrounding markets. He asserted that the conference opens windows of opportunities for those interested in investing in the real estate field; especially that the conference includes elite real estate experts for all over the globe. Meanwhile, KFH Chairman Sameer Al-Nafisi revealed that this conference was never held in Kuwait and the gulf region before, and mentioned that in light of the current exceptional conditions that global markets are witnessing, several challenges have surfaced, which affects the business environment in all sectors. “This requires collective thoughts and discussions to reach solutions that can guide investors,” a KFH press release quoted Al-Nafisi as saying.
He explained that global markets are going through a critical phase; especially after the series of financial challenges that forced numerous financial institutions to postpone or adjust their investment plans, in order to handle such drastic changes that have placed several countries on the verge of bankruptcy. However, despite such challenges, KFH continued to follow its balanced footsteps to open new investment channels in global markets. He noted that KFH focuses on the international real estate sector, where it managed to acquire profitable real estate to reinforce its strength in the investment field, and to offer promising investment opportunities with minimal risks. Chief economist Raymond Torto made a presentation to show the status of global economy and real estate sector, and said that uncertainty dominates the current talks about the current and future approaches of the global economy. He pointed out that studies cannot accurately forecast the global economy in light of the current financial and economic crisis that can lead to further complications. He added that in 2011, many predicted that that year would be better than the past three years, where the global economy will witness more growth. However, the contrary happened, which casts a dark shadow on the global economy that is expected to witness significant slow down this year in light of the current uncertainty, Torto noted. Furthermore, in 2011 best investments were made in long-term bonds and their derivatives, he went on.
Those instruments will maintain their power this year; especially in light of the dropping of interest rates that are expected to remain close to zero during the coming three years at least, Torto went on. However, he stressed that the real estate sector will continue to be a good and safe resort during the current phase; especially commercial real estate, despite high rates and returns in this sector. During the coming years, it is expected for 28 cities to become the highest in income worldwide out of 50 cities in Asia, he added. On his part, foreign policies expert Robert Kagan shed light on the current political status in the region and the world.
There are three issues that have had an impact on the world since 1950 until the first gulf war, which are the rapid growth rate of the global economy since 1950 until present, where the global economy achieved average growth of 4 percent during that period, compared to 1.5 percent during the period prior to 1950, he said.
The second issue is the dominancy of one power over the world, which is the United States that has spearheaded numerous wars in the world and the region, Kagan went on. He added that the United States has a vague policy regarding whether it will initiate other wars or not, and stressed that the United States will remain the only power in the world because of its robust economy and political influence. The last issue is the spread of democracy on a wider scale in the world, where there were only five democratic countries before 1950, but now there are more than 117 democratic countries worldwide. Kagan expressed optimism about the outlook of the Arab economies in the wake of the Arab Spring incidents, saying that those countries will enjoy a better economic and political future.
http://bit.ly/xMLBaH
KUWAIT, Jan 31 (KUNA) — Kuwait’s Minister of Finance and Minister of Health Mustafa Al-Shimali said Tuesday the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries were badly affected by the global financial crisis due to their interrelations with the oil-importing Western countries.
“This impact highlights the basic feature of globalization which put all peoples at one and the same boat,” the minister said in an inaugural speech he delivered to the Global Economic Real Estate Conference on behalf of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
The gathering is organized by Kuwait Finance House (KFH) here with dozens of senior local and international politicians and economists attending.
“Despite the adverse effects of globalization, the State of Kuwait is implementing an ambitious economic development plan aiming to revive the private sector through a number of mega projects. The ultimate goal of the plan is to restore the country’s position as regional financial and commercial hub,” he pointed out.
“The government, represented by Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), has setup a local real estate portfolio with a capital of KD one billion, in order to take advantage of good investment opportunities,” he stated.
Al-Shimali added that those projects will unleash the abilities of the private sector and reinforce its role in the development process. He stressed that the conference has additional importance, since it is being held during challenging economic conditions. The conference coincides with the parliamentary elections that reinforce democracy, he said, adding that he looks forward to the recommendations that will be made during the conference to show the positive means that need to be followed to face the consequences of the financial crises and the turbulences in surrounding markets. He asserted that the conference opens windows of opportunities for those interested in investing in the real estate field; especially that the conference includes elite real estate experts for all over the globe. Meanwhile, KFH Chairman Sameer Al-Nafisi revealed that this conference was never held in Kuwait and the gulf region before, and mentioned that in light of the current exceptional conditions that global markets are witnessing, several challenges have surfaced, which affects the business environment in all sectors. “This requires collective thoughts and discussions to reach solutions that can guide investors,” a KFH press release quoted Al-Nafisi as saying.
He explained that global markets are going through a critical phase; especially after the series of financial challenges that forced numerous financial institutions to postpone or adjust their investment plans, in order to handle such drastic changes that have placed several countries on the verge of bankruptcy. However, despite such challenges, KFH continued to follow its balanced footsteps to open new investment channels in global markets. He noted that KFH focuses on the international real estate sector, where it managed to acquire profitable real estate to reinforce its strength in the investment field, and to offer promising investment opportunities with minimal risks. Chief economist Raymond Torto made a presentation to show the status of global economy and real estate sector, and said that uncertainty dominates the current talks about the current and future approaches of the global economy. He pointed out that studies cannot accurately forecast the global economy in light of the current financial and economic crisis that can lead to further complications. He added that in 2011, many predicted that that year would be better than the past three years, where the global economy will witness more growth. However, the contrary happened, which casts a dark shadow on the global economy that is expected to witness significant slow down this year in light of the current uncertainty, Torto noted. Furthermore, in 2011 best investments were made in long-term bonds and their derivatives, he went on.
Those instruments will maintain their power this year; especially in light of the dropping of interest rates that are expected to remain close to zero during the coming three years at least, Torto went on. However, he stressed that the real estate sector will continue to be a good and safe resort during the current phase; especially commercial real estate, despite high rates and returns in this sector. During the coming years, it is expected for 28 cities to become the highest in income worldwide out of 50 cities in Asia, he added. On his part, foreign policies expert Robert Kagan shed light on the current political status in the region and the world.
There are three issues that have had an impact on the world since 1950 until the first gulf war, which are the rapid growth rate of the global economy since 1950 until present, where the global economy achieved average growth of 4 percent during that period, compared to 1.5 percent during the period prior to 1950, he said.
The second issue is the dominancy of one power over the world, which is the United States that has spearheaded numerous wars in the world and the region, Kagan went on. He added that the United States has a vague policy regarding whether it will initiate other wars or not, and stressed that the United States will remain the only power in the world because of its robust economy and political influence. The last issue is the spread of democracy on a wider scale in the world, where there were only five democratic countries before 1950, but now there are more than 117 democratic countries worldwide. Kagan expressed optimism about the outlook of the Arab economies in the wake of the Arab Spring incidents, saying that those countries will enjoy a better economic and political future.
http://bit.ly/xMLBaH