KUWAIT CITY: Five Kuwaiti MPs submitted a bill yesterday calling on the oil-rich state to give every citizen interest-free loans to help them cope with the fallout of the global economic crisis.

The bill aims to grant each Kuwaiti aged above 21 a loan of 10,000 dinars ($35,000) and a loan of 1,000 dinars (3,500 dollars) to those younger, to be repaid over 15 years.

One of the MPs, Marzouk Al Ghanem, told reporters that the loans would require a total of around 4.5bn dinars ($15.5bn) from the state coffers.

He said the aim of the bill, which will be reviewed by a parliamentary panel before being voted on in the house, was to help citizens repay their debt to banks and cope with the impact of the global financial crisis.

Kuwait has a native population of just above one million people, in addition to 2.4 million foreign residents. Lawmakers have been pressing the government to buy around $21bn of consumer loans owed to local banks and then reschedule their payments over 25 years, making them interest-free.

Last month, the government submitted a multi-billion dollar stimulus bill to shore up banks and help distressed investment firms repay their estimated $17bn debt, but it is facing stiff opposition from many MPs.

The emirate has lost around $31bn of its estimated $300bn foreign investments due to the global economic crisis, according to MPs, but unofficial reports put the losses at much higher.