CMA proposes easing investor criteria for Nomu to boost participation, liquidity

RIYADH: Kuwait is set to return to international debt markets after an eight-year absence, following the approval of a long-awaited public borrowing law aimed at addressing fiscal pressures and financing infrastructure projects. 

According to the Ministry of Finance, the law allows the government to issue up to 30 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($98 billion) in debt instruments, either in local or major foreign currencies, with maturities of up to 50 years — the longest-term legal framework the country has ever established for managing public debt. 

Since its debt law expired in 2017, Kuwait has been unable to issue sovereign bonds. Fitch Ratings noted earlier this month that passing the financing and liquidity law will boost fiscal flexibility, although the government has so far met its financing needs through substantial assets. 

Finance Minister and Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment, Noura Suleiman Salem Al-Fassam, said the law marks a strategic shift that will enhance Kuwait’s ability to meet financial obligations and support long-term growth. 

“This law gives Kuwait greater financial flexibility by providing the option to access both local and global financial markets to enhance liquidity management. This law supports government efforts to strengthen financial stability and drive economic development in line with Kuwait Vision 2035,” she added. 

The law is expected to stabilize liquidity, reduce borrowing costs, and strengthen Kuwait’s debt management strategy. 

Faisal Al-Muzaini, director of public debt at the Ministry of Finance, said it would introduce multiple financial instruments, allowing the state to secure financing through bonds, sukuk, or other market tools. 

“Developing the local debt markets enhances Kuwait’s competitiveness as a regional financial center and provides the government with new financial tools to manage public finances efficiently,” Al-Muzaini added. 

The law addresses a long-standing challenge in financing major infrastructure and development projects. It is also expected to stimulate liquidity and encourage greater private sector participation in financing activities. 

The ministry emphasized that this legislative step underscores Kuwait’s commitment to sustainable fiscal policy, balancing development financing with debt sustainability. 

The government also expects the law to improve Kuwait’s sovereign credit profile and enhance financial stability by ensuring liquidity under varying economic conditions. 

Kuwait’s budget for the next fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, projects a $22.44 billion deficit, with $59.10 billion in revenue and $79.54 billion in expenditure.

RIYADH: Global renewable energy capacity saw a record annual growth rate of 15.1 percent in 2024, increasing by 585 gigawatts, according to a new analysis.

In its latest report, the International Renewable Energy Agency said that this addition brought the total installed power capacity in the sector to 4,448 GW. 

Despite this record increase, IRENA highlighted that growth is still falling short of the 11.2 terawatts needed to align with the global goal to triple the installed renewable energy capacity by 2030. 

The study further said global renewable capacity should expand by 16.6 percent annually to meet the stipulated 2030 target.

Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency said that renewable energy sources accounted for most of the growth in international supply in 2024 at 38 percent, followed by natural gas at 28 percent, and coal at 15 percent, as well as oil at 11 percent and nuclear power at 8 percent. 

IEA’s estimate of renewable energy installations was also higher than the projections made by IRENA. IEA said that new renewable installations hit record levels for the 22nd consecutive year, with around 700 GW added to the total capacity in 2024, of which around 80 percent was from solar photovoltaic. 

Reflecting on the new analysis, IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera said: “With just six years remaining to meet the goal adopted at COP28 to triple installed renewable power capacity by 2030, the world now needs additions in excess of 1,120 GW each year for the rest of this decade to keep the world on a 1.5-degree Celsius pathway.”

La Camera also urged governments to leverage the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions as an opportunity to outline a clear blueprint of their renewable energy ambitions. 

He further called on the international community to enhance collaborations to support the renewable ambitions of the countries of the Global South. 

“The continuous growth of renewables we witness each year is evidence that renewables are economically viable and readily deployable. Each year, they keep breaking their own expansion records, but we also face the same challenges of great regional disparities and the ticking clock as the 2030 deadline is imminent,” said the director-general.

He added: “With economic competitiveness and energy security being increasingly a major global concern today, expanding renewable power capacity at speed equals tapping into business opportunities and addressing energy security quickly and sustainably.” 

According to IRENA, solar and wind energy saw the most significant expansion in 2024, accounting for 96.6 percent of all net renewable additions.

Over three-quarters of the capacity expansion was in solar energy, which increased by 32.2 percent, reaching 1,865 GW, followed by wind energy, growing by 11.1 percent. 

In 2024, China added 278 GW of solar energy capacity, followed by India at 24.5 GW. 

Commenting on the IRENA report, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “Renewable energy is powering down the fossil fuel age. Record-breaking growth is creating jobs, lowering energy bills and cleaning our air.”

He added: “Renewables renew economies. But the shift to clean energy must be faster and fairer — with all countries given the chance to fully benefit from cheap, clean, renewable power.”

According to IRENA, hydropower capacity reached 1,283 GW in 2024, demonstrating a notable rebound from 2023, driven by growth in China. 

The world saw wind energy capacity reaching 1,133 GW by the end of last year, driven by expansion in the US and China. 

Bioenergy expansion rebounded in 2024, with a growth of 4.6 GW of capacity compared to an increase of 3 GW in 2023. This rise was propelled by China and France, which added 1.3 GW each last year. 

Geothermal energy increased by 0.4 GW overall, led by New Zealand, followed by Indonesia, Turkiye, and the US. 

Off-grid electricity capacity expansion, excluding Eurasia, Europe, and North America, nearly tripled, growing by 1.7 GW to 14.3 GW. 

La Camera added that renewables accounted for 46 percent of global installed power capacity. 

“Even as renewable energy almost accounts for half of total capacity, many energy planning questions still need to be addressed to establish renewables as the most significant source of electricity generation — including in the context of grid flexibility and adaptation to variable renewable power,” he said. 

During the opening ceremony of the annual UN climate summit in November, Mukhtar Babayev, president of COP29, underscored the vitality of increased funding to enable climate efforts and urged governments, the private sector, and multilateral financial institutions to work together to meet the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. 

That treaty, signed in 2015, compels signatories to work toward limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.