Kuwait is continuing procedures to issue an international sovereign bond but it is hard to give a time frame for a sale, finance Minister Anas al-Saleh said on Monday. The government had planned to offer KWD3bn (USD9.8bn) in bonds to international investors at the beginning of 2017, Saleh said last November 2016. National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) and KAMCO said they had been invited by the government to participate in the issue. The projected budget deficit of KWD7.9bn in the new fiscal year starting on April 1 will be covered with reserves and issues of both domestic and international bonds, Saleh said at a briefing on the government's economic plans. (Reuters)   NBK: KWD0.74 as of 30 Jan, Rating: Buy, TP: KWD0.71 per share, MCap: USD13,454 mn, NBK KK / NBKK.KW