Kuwait to recruit consultancy firm for economic revival
Ways sought to reinvigorate small and medium-scale enterprises
Cairo: The Kuwaiti government is set to recruit the service of a consultancy firm to help spur economy affected by the new coronavirus, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai reported Wednesday.
The US consulting company McKinsey is a likely contender for the job, according to the report. The government has addressed oversight watchdogs on potential contracting of McKinsey, the paper said.
The consultant will be tasked with suggesting ways for reinvigorating small and medium-scale enterprises and the private sector as a whole, it added. Repercussions of catalystic measures for economy will also be studied.
Kuwait has enforced a string of precautionary measures to fight COVID-19, including a lockdown as well as temporary closure of public and private sectors' institutions. Earlier this week, Kuwait ended a total nationwide lockdown that took effect for 20 days and replaced it with a partial curfew.
The virus outbreak and concomitant steps have taken a toll on the country's economic activities.
A recent survey has found that Around 45 per cent of the Kuwaiti firms have stopped their business since February due to fallout from the new coronavirus.
The survey conducted by Bensirri Public Relations Firm also found that 26 more per cent of the companies are on the brink of discontinuation after their revenues have dropped by over 80 per cent.
Retail, construction, contracting, hospitality and professional services sectors are among the businesses hard hit by the crisis in terms of decline in revenues and operation, according to the survey.