LOC15:18
12:18 GMT
SHANGHAI, Nov 22 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's Petroleum Corporation (KPC), the Gulf country's number-one and largest oil company, eyes China as a key partner in future development enterprises, says the KPC Chief Executive officer.
The KPC has planned a large number of gas and oil projects, as part of its 2040 strategy, and "we hope Chinese companies will take part in executing them," said Nizar Al-Adsani, speaking at a dialogue panel, held within framework of the First Sino-Kuwaiti Investment Forum.
The 2040 strategy will create many investment opportunities for global companies, particularly Chinese firms, he said, noting that the corporation "views China as an important partner in future development ventures."
Shedding light on the KPC plan for the fiscal year 2018-2019 until 2022-2023, Al-Adsani says the envisioned projects for exploration, drilling and developing oil fields will account to 61 percent of expenditures in these areas in the next five years.
The KPC plans to spend USD 100 billion in execution of its "expansion scheme," he has added.
Projects envisaged in the above-mentioned fiscal year include the environmentally friendly fuel venture, Al-Zor refinery, Al-Zor integrated chemical projects, wide-scale drilling, Jurassic fields production, gas importation facilities and Doqum refinery in Oman.
Meanwhile, Trevor Liu, Huawei's CEO in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, has lauded the Chinese leadership for enacting necessary legislations to help companies improvise and apply their innovations.
He urged the Kuwaiti Government to study status of the small Chinese village, Shenzhen, that had been transformed from a tiny fishing port into a key magnet for businesses and manufacturing.
For his part, Omran Johar Hayat, Board Member of Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says the chamber is partaking in the forum to encourage Kuwaiti private companies get involved, effectively, in executing Kuwait Vision 2035.
He has expressed hope the forum will set the stage for cooperation between the Chinese and Kuwaiti private sectors at various levels, namely small and medium enterprise.
The first Sino-Kuwaiti Investment Forum is held, amid high expectations for an increase in bilateral cooperation in enterprise between Kuwait and China. It is sponsored by Kuwaiti Finance Minister Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf.
The forum is organized jointly by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Finance, Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) and Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority. On its sidelines, KIA inaugurated an office in Shanghai, after it had opened one in Beijing in 2011.
The one-day forum discusses investment opportunities available in the State of Kuwait in areas such as oil construction, housing, infrastructure and information technology. (end)
km.rk