How business, doctors and journalists prey on your food anxieties I

Kuwait
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT P.4
I
4
Cmde oil prodcccion
;n Kuwait st<strong>and</strong>s at twc
n :lllo, b«els a day, wi .h tie Burgsn field one of
the T.ost pro'.ific in the woddA
companies," he says, "Wlth the
experierce gained, we will tackle
the sale of utilities, of which
telecommunications will be .he first,
followed by the power <strong>and</strong> water
industries, <strong>and</strong> eventually wholly
stat.e-owned companies such. as
Kuwait Airways ."
The World Bar.k identified 74
public or mixed companies as suitab' .e
c<strong>and</strong>idates, including 62 In which KIA
has shareholdings . It is estimated tnat
^.he total value of the govemment's
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/agf97d00/pdf
shareho'.d .ngs (excluding oil-sector
enterprises) amounts to KD 3 .6 billion
($11 .15 bil :ion), mctuding KD 2 .2 billion
($7 .42 blilion) in electric power <strong>and</strong>
water facilities, KD 200 million (5675
million) in te,ecorrmunications, KD 420
million ($1 .41 billion) in Kuwait Airways
Corporation ard KD 800 million
($2 .7 billion), representing KIA's
shareholdings in !ts 62 companies .
These have beer. grouped in three
categories : 23 that could be privatized
o,u :clGy with few complicatfons ; six that
could be liqu[dated ; <strong>and</strong> 33 'hat need
further analysls . Tce largest proportion
of these conssts of 24 companies
in the banking, real estate <strong>and</strong>
financia : sectors .
Privatzation of KIA companies began
last Seotember with the sale o`f shares in
the Commercial Facilities Company
ICFCI, wNch was five times
oversuoscribed <strong>and</strong> now trades at a
heaithy premium . In December KIA
auctioned 60 miaion of the 71 million
shares it owned in A-Ahli Bank, -ealizing
KD ;0 million ($33 .75 million) for me
govemment .
A Gulf Bank, we emphasize ttuee prLn dpal activities: providing
banking services to international comoanies <strong>and</strong> institution5
contributing to the development of Kuwait ; supporting the international
requirements of the Bank's domestic customers ; <strong>and</strong> international
lending to oil related <strong>business</strong> <strong>and</strong> the
financin.g of international trade to Kuwait
<strong>and</strong> the Gulf region . At KD 1 .39 billion
(approximately US$ 4 .5 billion), we are just
the right size to meet all your fin<strong>and</strong>al needs
while giving you the personal attention <strong>and</strong>
service you require to do <strong>business</strong> in Kuwait . So, when you are ready to do
<strong>business</strong> with Kuwait, we cvlll be ready to do <strong>business</strong> with you .
For more inforrnation <strong>and</strong> to obtain a copy e,f our annual report, fax your
busness card to our International Division in Kuwait on (965) 242 2849,
P.O.BOX 3200, SAFAT 13032, KUWAfT. TEL: (965) 2449501, FAX, (965) 2412849
2046673407,
With the domest:c Kiwait dinar market
remaining strongly liquid, Al-Bader is
hoping to fioat stock issues at monthly
ri With seven companies
already priva6zed, yielding KD 210
million ($709 million), he expects that
this part of the program can be
completed by 1998, <strong>and</strong> he can then
turn his attention to the major utilltles .
The Kuwait stock exchange is
playing an inportant role . At present it
trades shares in 51 companies <strong>and</strong> two
mutual funds . Its current director
gerera, Hisram S . AI-Otaibi, has been
in the job for eight years <strong>and</strong> is aiso
Chairman of `he Arab Union of Stock
Exchanges <strong>and</strong> Sacur3ies Commission .
He sees a good future . "We have a
new trading floor," he says, "<strong>and</strong>
increasing stock volume in recent
weeks, which should continue .
Economica :ly we are in very good shape
compared to what we were ."
THE OIL INDUSTRY
No one had really expected that
Kuwait's return to cil produc'.ion after
the Icdulf War would have been so
quick . i t:at the 700-odd oil fires snould
have been ext!nguished in seven
months was little sho': o` a miracle .
Damage done to pipelines <strong>and</strong> oil
instal!a'ions, along with wanton
pollution, cost the country up to $75
billion . Yet'he countv, wi :h some 10%
of world oil reserves, has the
advantage of development costs that
are among the lowest of the major
producers . It also nas the highly prolific
Burgan field .
The Kuwait Petroieum Corporation
IKPCI, which was established In 1980
<strong>and</strong> is the umbrel!a organization for the
industry, ri the Kuwait Oil Co .
(KOC), responsible for the exploration
<strong>and</strong> production of oil <strong>and</strong> gas within
Kuwait ; Kuwait National Petroleum Co .
(KNPCi, the refinery <strong>and</strong> marketing
arm ; Petrochemical Industries Co .
(P!C), responsib!e for fert!!izers <strong>and</strong>
petrochemicals ; <strong>and</strong> Kuwait Oil Tanker
Co ., the transportation arm .
Minister of Oil <strong>and</strong> Chairman
of the Board of KPC H . E . Dr. Abdul
Mohsen Medej ArMedej points
out that within two years KPC was
in a position to produce oil at the same
rate as before the war -
2 million barrels a day . Of these,
1 .2 mil!ion are exported as crude,
<strong>and</strong> 800,000 as refined - up from
700,000 prewar .
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