Kuwait’s Sovereign Ratings Affirmed with a Stable Outlook

Ref: KW 20 CRA00- 1 31 st January 2020

Kuwait’s Sov ereign Ratings Affirmed with a Stable Outlook

RATING ACTION

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings or CI ) , the international credit rating agency, today announced that it has affirmed the Long-Term Foreign C urrency Rating (LT FC R ) and Long-Term Local Currency Rating (LT LC R ) of Kuwait at ‘AA-’. The sovereign’s Short-Term Foreign Currency Rating (ST FC R ) and Short-Term Local Currency Rating (ST LC R ) have also been affirmed at ‘ A1+’. The Outlook for the ratings remains Stable.

RATING RATIONALE

Kuwait’s ratings are underpinned by the country’s large oil reserves, substantial external assets, continued current account surpluses , and limited government indebtedness. The ratings are also supported by a relatively low fiscal breakeven oil price, a high GDP per capita, a s well as a strong banking system. The ratings remain constrained by the country’s over-…