DUBAI, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Kuwait may issue U.S. dollar- or dinar-denominated bonds to financial institutions to help cover a fiscal deficit caused by low oil prices, finance minister Anas al-Saleh told al-Arabiya television on Thursday.
"Issuance to institutions may be in dinars and may be denominated in dollars," he said. "For us, the picture is clear and the plans are drafted. We will announce any development in this regard in due course."
Saleh did not specify when the issue might occur or whether it would feature conventional or Islamic bonds. In September, he had said Kuwait planned to issue local-currency sovereign debt by the end of this year.
Kuwait's budget deficit in the April-August period stood at 1.094 billion dinars ($3.62 billion), after a deduction for the Future Generations Fund, part of it sovereign wealth fund.
(Reporting by Yara Bayoumy; Writing by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Edited by Andrew Torchia) ((yara.bayoumy@thomsonreuters.com; tel: +9714 391 8301; Reuters Messaging: yara.bayoumy.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
"Issuance to institutions may be in dinars and may be denominated in dollars," he said. "For us, the picture is clear and the plans are drafted. We will announce any development in this regard in due course."
Saleh did not specify when the issue might occur or whether it would feature conventional or Islamic bonds. In September, he had said Kuwait planned to issue local-currency sovereign debt by the end of this year.
Kuwait's budget deficit in the April-August period stood at 1.094 billion dinars ($3.62 billion), after a deduction for the Future Generations Fund, part of it sovereign wealth fund.
(Reporting by Yara Bayoumy; Writing by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Edited by Andrew Torchia) ((yara.bayoumy@thomsonreuters.com; tel: +9714 391 8301; Reuters Messaging: yara.bayoumy.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
