KUWAIT: Lebanon wants to negotiate fuel imports with Kuwait to help Beirut cope with an economic and financial crisis, Lebanon’s internal security chief said in remarks published on Tuesday.
Abbas Ibrahim told Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai he had discussed the matter with Kuwaiti officials during a visit to the oil-exporting Gulf Arab state this week along with other “shared ideas” that could help alleviate Lebanon’s crisis.
“We want to purchase 100% of our requirements from Kuwait without going through agents or companies looking to make a profit ... this is a purely commercial matter and I hope there will be no obstacles to it,” Al Rai quoted Ibrahim as saying.
He said the request would be raised to Kuwait’s ruler.
Lebanon is suffering a dire financial crisis and hard currency liquidity crunch. The Lebanese pound has lost some 80% of its value since October.
There was no immediate comment from Kuwaiti officials on the request. Abbas, in the newspaper interview, declined to elaborate on what other assistance Lebanon may have sought.
Gulf states have long channelled funds into Lebanon’s fragile economy but are alarmed by the rising influence of Hezbollah, a powerful group backed by their arch-rival Iran.
They appear loath now to help ease Beirut’s worst financial crisis in decades, with a senior official in the United Arab Emirates last month saying Lebanon was paying the price of deteriorating ties with wealthy Gulf Arab neighbors.
Kuwait is seeking to bolster its own finances amid low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic, and has been rapidly depleting its General Reserves Fund to plug a budget deficit.
Another leading Kuwaiti newspaper, Al Qabas, quoted sources as saying it would be difficult for Kuwait at this time to consider supporting Lebanon through a central bank deposit.
Lebanon seeks fuel imports from Kuwait
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Lebanon seeks fuel imports from Kuwait
- Lebanon’s internal security chief said he had discussed the matter with Kuwaiti officials during a visit
SIDF finances 5k projects with over $53.3bn
RIYADH: The Saudi Industrial Development Fund has approved up to 5,000 projects — representing about 40 percent of the Kingdom’s industrial base — with a total investment value nearing SR200 billion ($53.3 billion), according to Khalil Al-Nammari, executive vice president for strategic planning and business development at the fund, who spoke to Al-Eqtisadiah.
This brought the fund’s total approved investments since its establishment in the 1970s to more than SR700 billion.
During the Vision 2030 period alone, the fund approved loans ranging between SR86 billion and SR90 billion, Al-Nammari said.
These loans attracted nearly SR190 billion in investments, highlighting the scale of expansion and growth in industrial lending and related sectors.
Repositioning within national ecosystem
Al-Nammari noted that the fund has repositioned itself within the national economic ecosystem in recent years, benefiting from the major transformation driven by Saudi Vision 2030.
He said the fund, which marked its 50th anniversary last year, has shifted from its traditional role of financing industry to a broader mandate covering industry, energy, mining, and logistics, adding that the expansion required a comprehensive strategic shift in lending mechanisms, services, and programs offered to these new sectors.
The fund launched innovative financing solutions and established the Industrial Fund Academy, which has so far trained more than 11,000 trainees from the public and private sectors.
According to the executive vice president, the scale of work and results achieved since the launch of Vision 2030 is equivalent to what was achieved over 36 years since the fund's establishment, underscoring the momentum generated by the vision and its derived strategies.
Long-term development partnership
Al-Nammari stressed that the fund's success is measured by the ability of projects to be built, operated, exported, and scaled, not only by the size of financing, pointing out that relationships with clients often extend 15 to 20 years due to the long-term nature of development loans.
On measuring development impact, Al-Nammari said economic feasibility studies, market analysis, and engineering assessments form the foundation before any loan is approved.
He added that the SIDF evaluates project performance after operations begin by monitoring financial statements, operational progress, production capacity, and sales growth, as well as export capabilities.
He added that the fund also assesses job creation and quality, all of which are indicators factored into lending decisions from the outset and monitored throughout the loan term.
As part of this effort, the fund conducts regular visits to more than 1,000 active projects in its portfolio to track construction and operational phases, assess financing needs, and provide solutions, advisory support, and academic services.
The goal is to ensure factories achieve their production targets, adhere to business plans, and enter local and global markets, contributing to industrial growth, higher exports, and greater sector contribution to gross domestic product.
New financing channels to attract capital
In the coming years, the fund will continue to focus on the sectors identified by the national strategy, spanning 12 areas, including food and pharmaceutical security, as well as future-oriented sectors such as clean energy, hydrogen, and electric vehicle components, as well as renewable energy, and supporting supply chains.
Al-Nammari said the fund has recently focused on creating new financing channels aimed at attracting capital from the private sector, banks, and investment funds.
In this context, the fund has launched the SIDF Investment Co., which holds existing commitments of SR50 million in funds and firms that support investment in the industrial sector.
Moreover, it has introduced the Supply Chain Financing program, the largest of its kind globally, aimed at providing financing solutions for the invoices of suppliers to major national companies.
The program is currently operating with firms such as Saudi Aramco and the Saudi Electricity Co., helping to support national supply chains and enhance the sustainability of small, medium, and advanced industrial projects alike.
