Kuwait's cabinet approved today a $5.2 billion economic stimulus package to spur lending and beef up financial firms after weeks of delays, according to Reuters. Kuwait, the world's seventh-largest oil exporter, has been hit by the financial crisis and is the only Gulf country that has had to step in to save a big bank. The plan is designed to enable banks to lend about 4 billion dinars ($13.81 billion) within two years of which the government would guarantee up to 50 percent to encourage lending. The total cost of the package should not exceed 1.5 billion dinars, the central bank has said. The government can also help banks trying to raise fresh funds by buying any unsubscribed stock in capital increases as it did with troubled Gulf Bank in January.
