Press Releases

The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) has finished compiling the provisional figures for the Balance of Payments (BOP) of the State of Kuwait for 2008, and revising the BOP data for the period 2004-2007. Provisional BOP figures for 2008 indicate that the surpluses realized in the main external balances continued to grow during that year, compared to 2007. The surplus realized in the Current Account (which reflects the outcome of all transactions between the domestic economy and other economies involving goods, services, investment income, and unrequited current transfers) grew at an accelerated rate (30.8%) to reach KD 17404 million during 2008, compared to a surplus of KD 13309 million during 2007.

The increase in the Current Account surplus of the State of Kuwait BOP during 2008 over the previous year was mainly the outcome of the rise of the surplus in the Balance on Goods by 39.5%.

Regarding the developments in the Financial Account, the growth in the net value of assets invested abroad and recorded under that account accelerated during 2008, compared to the previous year. Specifically, the Financial Account recorded a growth of KD 15811 million in the net value of assets invested abroad during 2008, compared to a growth of KD 10879 million during 2007, i.e. an increase of KD 4932 million or 45.3%.

As a result of the above-mentioned developments, the overall surplus in the BOP of the State of Kuwait reached KD 172 million during 2008, compared to a surplus of KD 917 million during 2007.

When the overall position of the State of Kuwait BOP is considered from a broader perspective to encompass the change in the net value of external assets of some government institutions recorded under the "General Government" item, along with the change in total reserve assets of the CBK, the overall position of the Balance of Payments shows a surplus of KD 8396 million during 2008, compared with a surplus of KD 11548 million during the previous year.

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