Kuwait Finance House (KFH) CEO Mohammed Al-Omar said that the global economy witnesses several significant changes and developments that can clearly affect its performance during the coming period, not to mention snowballing into new crises, unless serious steps were taken about that matter. He explained that those changes include the increase in prices of gold to unprecedented levels, which prompted many sectors to resort to it as a safe haven; thus reflecting the state of uncertainty. In addition to that, there is the currencies war that each country resorts to, in order to decrease the rate of its currency to encourage its exports, and limit budget deficit. He explained that the Europeans try to support the competitive status among exporting countries, in addition to China that seeks to control inflation to maintain its growth rate. In addition to that, there is the continuous increase in prices of oil, which does not reflect the real demand on oil as much as it reflects speculations. He went on to say during his interview with CNBC that the approval of the development plan dominated the local scene, since it will lead to the increase in governmental expenditure; thus boosting the economy that depends on real estate development projects and construction. He noted that the housing care has 80,000 requests, and if the government begins to meet those requests, the markets related to construction and laborers will prosper, not to mention the need to construct infrastructure and conduct other studies required for new societies.
Moreover, he mentioned that KFH and other banks have begun to receive financing requests for many companies that work in major projects, and stressed that KFH is willing to provide them with the necessary funding according to the bank’s criteria. He considered that privatization law will allow the private sector to conquer new areas, which requires upgrading the competitive abilities of those companies.
Al-Omar noted that KFH has achieved growth in many financial indexes, where the Q3 budget witnessed an increase in deposits by 9%, in addition to the increase in assets and shareholders equity, despite the consequences of the economic crisis. He also expected further growth in the coming period, not to mention more products and services that cement KFH’s competitive and leadership status, especially that new Islamic banks have emerged, making the total number of Islamic banks in Kuwait reach five banks, in addition to Al-Rajihi, which reflects the growing demand for Shariah compliant products and services, and the bank’s work strategy.
Furthermore, he revealed that KFH has led the rescheduling of Aref investment debts that reached KD 280 million, and turned them from short term loans to medium and long term loans, after receiving the approval of all concerned bodies, which allow the company to manage its assets efficiently, in addition to assessing investment projects according to the new requirements and conditions.