Concerns among Indian expatriate community members in Kuwait government service are growing after comments by the country’s finance minister about its capacity to pay salaries beyond October.
Kuwaiti Finance Minister Barak Al-Sheetan has said that the country has $6.5 billion worth of liquidity, which would not be enough to cover state salaries beyond October.
According to a report by The Hindu BusinessLine, the oil-rich nation’s government is withdrawing money from the General Reserve Fund at a rate of $5.5 billion a month and this would result in weakening liquidity.
The Gulf nation will not be able to borrow from international markets unless there is a significant improvement in global oil prices.
Experts suggest that private entities, especially providing contracts and other indirect services to the Kuwaiti government, would be materially affected.
According to the news report, this could delay disbursal of salaries and payments to citizens and more expats working in the government sector. Kuwait’s expat community is dominated by Indians. Around 30,000 Indians may be employed directly in sectors associated with the government.
