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      Kuwait CEOs buoyant, resilient and confident despite waves of a global recession

      CEOs in Kuwait are looking past recent economic slowdowns and are winding up to catapult organizational growth in the three-year horizon (2022–2025). 

      The KPMG Kuwait CEO Outlook 2022–23 report draws on the perspectives of 1325 global CEOs, including 25 from Kuwait, to provide a detailed overview of their outlook on Kuwait’s economic landscape and insight into their near- and long-term plans. Titled Turning the tide, this is the second edition of the KPMG Kuwait CEO Outlook, which was first published in 2021.

      The KPMG Kuwait CEO Outlook 2022–23 focuses on four primary themes: (i) economic outlook; (ii) technology; (iii) talent; and (iv) ESG (environment, social and governance). Over the course of 2022–23, we witnessed cross-level shifts in Kuwait — a lot of which weren’t synonymous with the global trends. For instance, the findings indicate that more than 70% of the surveyed CEOs think a recession is unlikely to hit Kuwait in the near future. However, they are not undermining the fact that a potential event would in fact affect their earnings and slow down post-pandemic recovery.

      To identify whether or not our survey findings were aligned with their business strategies, we interviewed five CEOs from Kuwait. They were:

      •       Mr. Raed Jawad Bukhamseen, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, KIB;

      •       Eng. Maziad Alharbi, Chief Executive Officer, stc;

      •       Mr. Ali H. Khalil, Chief Executive Officer, Markaz;

      •       Mr. S.N. Ramachandran, Group Chief Financial Officer, Fouad Alghanim Group; and

      •       Mr. Mazen Hawwa, Vice Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, United Real Estate Co.

      Our goal through this report is to support CEOs decisions in light of the shifts occuring in Kuwait's economic landscape.


      The past years were turbulent to say the least. To stay afloat after back-to-back catastrophic events and the resulting uncertainty, businesses needed to be resilient to the challenges and confident in their approach. This year’s report is more than numbers; it is about CEOs show of heart and strength of character to find opportunity in uncertainties, which is evident in the results.
      Dr. Rasheed Al-Qenae

      Chairman of the KPMG Middle East, South Asia, Caucasus and Central Asia (MESAC) region and Managing Partner, KPMG in Kuwait


      KPMG Kuwait CEO Outlook report

      KPMG Kuwait CEO Outlook



      Featured interviews

      In an interview with Raed Jawad Bukhamseen

      In an interview with Mazen Issam Hawwa

      In an interview with Eng. Maziad Alharbi

      In an interview with Ali H. Khalil

      In an interview with S.N. Ramachandran


      Our people

      Dr. Rasheed Al-Qenae

      Chairman of the KPMG's CASA region and Managing Partner, KPMG in Kuwait

      KPMG in Kuwait

      Safi Al-Mutawa

      Senior Partner

      KPMG in Kuwait

      Zubair Patel

      Head of Tax Steering Group in KPMG's CASA region and Head of Tax & Corporate Services

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      Bhavesh Gandhi

      Risk Management Leader, KPMG's CASA region and Head of Financial Services

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      Partner and Head of Management Consulting and Technology Advisory

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      Associate Partner — Audit

      KPMG in Kuwait

      Fahim Bashir

      Partner — Tax & Corporate Services

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      Salman Bin Khalid

      Partner and Head of Audit

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      Muhammad Hanan Tariq

      Partner — Tax & Corporate Services

      KPMG in Kuwait

      Ali Abbas

      Partner and Head of Risk Consulting

      KPMG in Kuwait


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