Kuwait Real Estate

Kuwait is one the smallest states in the Arabian Peninsula. It lies in the western part of Asia. To its north is the Iraq while Iran lies in its northeastern boundaries. Saudi Arabia occupies its western boundaries and to its south coastlines is the Persian Gulf. Having an estimated GDP of fifty billion dollars (with a growth rate of seven percent) and a per capita GDP of about twenty five thousand dollars, the country is seen to be one of the prime sites where investments on real estate properties will yield promising results.

Basically, Kuwait can be described as a small country that has huge oil reserves. Its oil reserves account for a tenth of the world's reserves and it can approximately fill a hundred billion barrels or fifteen cubic kilometers. As such, more than three fourths of the country's revenues come from oil processing revenues. This is so since the oil and natural gas reserves account for ninety percent of the total export revenues.

Kuwait has no arable lands and agricultural ventures are quite impossible in the country. The scarcity of water and the absence of fertile soils have resulted to an economy and population that relies mostly on imported food and beverage. Majority of the country's potable water are imported while those that are from its natural resources have to be distilled or chemically processed.

Being a major trading partner of Japan, South Korea, the United States, Singapore, the Republic of China, Pakistan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, France, and Italy, Kuwait exports oil and gas refined products and fertilizers while they obtain large imports of food products, transport machinery, construction materials, textile and clothing.

As such, the prime investment in Kuwait remains to be focused in manufacturing industries and factories. As such, barren real estate areas in the country are continuously transformed into industrial zones that cater to the petrochemicals, petroleum, shipbuilding, cement and construction materials, and food processing industry. Apart from that, a major investment in the area is the establishment of residential houses and the commercial places for its growing labor force, which is about two million as of now. Apart from a steadily growing local population, Kuwait also has an increasing number of overseas workers.

Kuwait is practically considered as one of the richest countries in Asia due to its many reserve funds. At the moment, the government of Kuwait has two reserve funds. One is the Fund for Future Generations and the other one is the General Reserve Fund. The GRF is about amounted to about a hundred billion dollars before the country was invaded by Iraq in 1990. However, such were used to rebuild the country's economy after the invasion and the Kuwaiti Government now only holds about fifty billion dollars now. Basically, the bulk of its reserve is invested in the territories of its trading partners, and in some countries in Southeast Asia. To handle such foreign investments funded by the General Reserve Fund and the Future Generations fund, and to assist and manage foreign investors planning to engage in various business ventures in the country; Kuwait has established the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). The KIA is responsible for administering the investments in local, Arab, and international markets. In addition to that, the establishment of the KIA was made to reduce the country's revenue dependence on oil reserves.

At present, both foreign and local investments are the main factors that affect the economic stability of Kuwait. With an ever-increasing labor force and a continuously progressing oil refinery industry that continuously develops it's almost boundless oil reserves, this small country in the Arabian Peninsula continuous to be a good site for investment and businesses on its real estates.