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Kuwaiti Candidate Has Widespread Support for Top OPEC Job, Sources Say

A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen during a meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries in Vienna, Austria September 22, 2017. (Reuters)
A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen during a meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries in Vienna, Austria September 22, 2017. (Reuters)
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Kuwaiti Candidate Has Widespread Support for Top OPEC Job, Sources Say

A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen during a meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries in Vienna, Austria September 22, 2017. (Reuters)
A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen during a meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries in Vienna, Austria September 22, 2017. (Reuters)

Kuwait's candidate to lead the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has widespread support from the group, with current secretary general Mohammad Barkindo not expected to seek re-election, two sources told Reuters.

Haitham al-Ghais, a former Kuwaiti governor to OPEC, is the only candidate for the role of secretary general, the two sources added.

OPEC is expected to elect a new secretary general at its meeting on Jan. 4, a third source said.

Nigerian Barkindo, whose is due to step down at the end of next July, took OPEC's top job in mid-2016 and was granted a second three-year term in 2019.

Barkindo has steered OPEC through a period of extreme turbulence, in which prices have crashed several times, including to below zero in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

He also helped to clinch a deal with non-OPEC producers such as Russia to reduce global oil output to balance the market since 2016.

The new secretary general will have to balance OPEC revenue needs against pressures from the United States to pump more oil to help to meet demand as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Al-Ghais stepped down as Kuwait's OPEC governor in June this year and was appointed deputy managing director of international marketing at state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).

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World Bank: Earthquake Worsens Myanmar's Economic Decline

This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
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World Bank: Earthquake Worsens Myanmar's Economic Decline

This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)

Myanmar's beleaguered economy is expected to contract by 2.5 percent in the 2025/26 fiscal year largely due to the devastating impact of a powerful earthquake in late March, the World Bank said in a report on Thursday.

The World Bank said direct damages to property and infrastructure from the 7.7 magnitude quake were estimated at $11 billion, or 14% of the nation's gross domestic product, estimating that economic output would be about $2 billion lower than it otherwise would have been because of the quake.

The quake affected more than 17 million people, with nine million severely impacted, the World Bank said. The death toll has topped 3,700, according to Myanmar's ruling junta.

"The earthquake caused significant loss of life and displacement, while exacerbating already difficult economic conditions, further testing the resilience of Myanmar's people," Melinda Good, Division Director for Thailand and Myanmar, said a statement.
"Recovery efforts are essential to help the most vulnerable populations."

A junta spokesman did not respond to a call from Reuters seeking comment on the report.

In December, the World Bank had projected Myanmar's economy would shrink 1% in the 2024/25 fiscal year that ended in March due to the severe flooding in the country.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021, sparking a civil war. There have been international efforts to stall the conflict, but rebels have accused the junta of breaching a ceasefire called to allow relief efforts to reach earthquake-affected areas.

The hardest-hit regions of Mandalay and Naypyidaw were expected to lose up to one-third of their production between April and September before a partial recovery in the second half of the fiscal year, the World Bank said.

The earthquake could increase the national poverty rate by 2.8 percentage points, pushing more households into poverty, the report stated. A survey before the quake estimated the poverty rate at 31% in 2024.

"Myanmar's compounding crises have put household coping mechanisms under severe stress," said Kim Edwards, Senior Economist and Program Leader for Thailand and Myanmar.