Qatar Daily News

Kuwait plans to increase spending by about 34 percent in the fiscal year starting April 1 and is projecting a budget deficit of 6.46 billion dinars ($22.4 billion), according to a copy of the draft sent to parliament.

Spending is forecast at 16.16 billion dinars and revenue at 9.7 billion dinars in the proposal. Oil revenue is projected at 8.62 billion dinars and non-oil revenue at 1.1 billion dinars. The 2010/2011 budget will be based on a price of $43 a barrel for oil, which now trades at about $72 a barrel.

Parliament’s budget committee is discussing the draft and the legislature is expected to vote on it in March.

Kuwait’s state-run Petrochemical Industries Co (PIC) plans to build an olefins complex at a cost of about $3 billion, the firm’s managing director said in an oil ministry publication.

“PIC plans to build a third olefins complex…The enterprise is still in the initial study phase and we expect to complete it by February 2010,” Managing Director of PIC Maha Mulla Hussain was quoted as saying in the January 2010 issue of the oil ministry’s quarterly bulletin.

Fadhel Ashkanani, the Chairman of the Kuwait Union of Domestic Workers’ Office Owners has said that Indonesia should lift ban over recruiting workers from Kuwait and the country is capable to provide skilled workers for meeting its rising industrial needs.

Ashkanani urged the concerned authorities to expedite the process to resolve all issues related to workforce. He criticized the government for adding a discriminatory clause to the agreement which is against the interests of workers.
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Iran has the infrastructure in place to consider expanding its gas export options to markets in Kuwait, the head of Iran’s gas transport company said.

Reza Almasi, the head of Iran’s Gas Transportation Co., told that Kuwait was keen to link up to gas transport systems in Iran.
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