The Ministry of Finance issues the final account of the State of Kuwait for the fiscal year 22/23

The Ministry of Finance issues the final account of the State of Kuwait for the fiscal year 22/23

Note to editors:

• In Kuwait, State budgets and State closing accounts must be ratified by the Kuwait National Assembly (the country’s freely elected parliament).
• By law, the Closing Accounts do not include gains from the Future Generations Fund (FGF, also known as the Kuwait Sovereign Wealth Fund), which is managed by the Kuwait Investment Authority. All investment gains from FGF activities are reinvested by the FGF as mandated by law.

Kuwait Ministry of Finance releases the State of Kuwait’s Closing Accounts for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023

22/23 Highlights:

• KD6.4 billion fiscal surplus compared to last year’s fiscal deficit of KD4.3 billion
• Total revenue up by 54.7% compared to last year’s closing accounts
• Capital and infrastructure expenditure accounted for 9.0% of total expenditure
• Total expenditure down 2.6% compared to last year’s closing accounts

Kuwait, July 26, 2023: The Kuwait Ministry of Finance today announced the State of Kuwait’s closing accounts for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. The State’s accounts recorded KD28.8 billion in revenue, KD22.4 billion in expenditure, and closed with a fiscal surplus of KD6.4 billion. The State of Kuwait’s fiscal year starts on April 1st and ends on March 31st. (By law, the Closing Accounts do not include revenue from the Future Generations Fund (FGF, also known as the Kuwait Sovereign Wealth Fund), which is managed by the Kuwait Investment Authority. All investment gains from FGF activities are reinvested into the FGF as mandated by its governing law.)

H.E. the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Oil, Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment, and Minister of Finance (Acting) H.E. Saad H. Al-Barrak said:

“The State’s accounts have experienced a healthy recovery in terms of liquidity, driven mostly by rebounding crude oil prices during the fiscal year and aided by controlled expenditure. Today, Kuwait has one of the strongest sovereign balance sheets in the world, with one of lowest sovereign debt to GDP levels globally, and a strong rebounding economy”.

22/23 Revenue Highlights:
● Total Revenue: KD28.8 billion, up 54.7% from closing 21/22
○ Oil revenue: KD26.7 billion, up 64.7% from closing 21/22
○ Non-oil revenue: KD2.1 billion, down 12.8% from closing 21/22
● Average Kuwaiti crude selling price for the fiscal year: USD 97.1 per barrel, up 21.4% from closing 21/22
● Average oil production: 2.693 million barrels per day.

22/23 Expenditure Highlights:
● Wages and subsidies: KD17.4 billion, comprising 78.0% of all expenditure.
● Capital Expenditure: KD2.1 billion, comprising 9.0% of all expenditure.
● Total Expenditure: KD22.4 billion down 2.6% from last year’s closing accounts.

State of Kuwait Closing Accounts Summary

-ENDS-

Note to Editors
● *21/22 Closing Accounts were restated in July 2023 in compliance with Law 47/2022. The changes are accounting-oriented and have no monetary impact on the General Reserve Fund (i.e. State’s Treasury)
● In Kuwait, State budgets and State closing accounts must be ratified by the Kuwait National Assembly (the country’s freely elected parliament).
● The State’s closing accounts must be ratified by parliament in order to be considered final.
● The actual deficit for the year ending on March 31, 2022 (last year) was covered by withdrawals from the General Reserve Fund (GRF, the State’s treasury) in the absence of a law governing the issuance of sovereign bonds. The last active debt law expired in October 2017. In Kuwait, all laws must pass through its freely-elected parliament.
● By law, the Closing Accounts do not include gains from the Future Generations Fund (FGF, the Kuwait Sovereign Wealth Fund), which is managed by the Kuwait Investment Authority. All investment gains from FGF activities are reinvested by the FGF as mandated by law.