A proposed economic rescue plan agreed by Kuwait's government is expected to be worth KD1.5 billion  ($5.09 billion), Trade and Industry Minister Ahmad Baqr was reported as saying.

The plan would involve the sovereign fund Kuwait Investment Authority taking stakes in companies and pumping cash into them and will not cover repayment of debt by citizens, the daily Al Watan reported Baqr as saying.

The cabinet approved the plan to shore up confidence in the economy including state guarantees for banks and 'ways to help troubled firms' amid a global credit crisis hitting the Opec producer, the state news agency Kuna said on Thursday.

Parliament is expected to debate the package on Tuesday, when deputies are scheduled to discuss the impact of the financial crisis on the Opec member.

The government is facing increasing pressure from MPs to support troubled investment firms, which make up more than half of the country's listed companies and have borrowed heavily to finance expansions during an oil boom in the past few years.-Reuters