Local media quoted a company statement as saying on Monday that the decision was made “in response to directives from the Kuwaiti Council of Ministers,” adding that the move would not affect its “strategic objectives in the medium term”.

“The company has taken other actions to rationalize its operational budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 through reducing it by nearly 18 percent to ensure the stability of state public finances,” the statement pointed out, according to the Middle East Monitor.

In June, the Kuwaiti cabinet ordered the country’s finance ministry to reduce its 2020-21 budgets by 20 percent, following nationwide financial pressure due to the coronavirus outbreak and a global drop in oil prices.