Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) on Sunday decided to cut its discount rate by 25 basis points from 3.75 to 3.50 points as of Monday.

CBK Governor Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah told Kuwait News Agency KUNA that this decision was part of continuous steps to strengthen growth in the domestic economy to overcome the challenges caused by the current global economic downturn.

He added the move is to boost local economic activities by reducing finance costs and stimulate the monetary policy for the time being.

To reduced the risk of economic recession, Kuwait has recently implemented a US$5.15-billion stimulus plan to help struggled investment companies and offer bank loan guarantees.

(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2009)