Kuwait Investment Authority (2024)

FAQs

What is the general authority for investment in Kuwait? ›

KIA is an independent public authority established in Kuwait and managed by its Board of Directors. The Board has complete independence in its decision making process and is responsible for long-term asset allocation and overall performance; while the executive management formulates and executes investment strategies.

The KIA is an asset manager, and does not own any of the assets it manages, all of which are owned by the State of Kuwait.

Kuwait is classified as a low risk (A3) by the globally operating French credit insurer Coface, which generally means that the political and economic situation is relatively good, with stable and efficient commercial environment.

The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is the oldest sovereign wealth fund in the world. KIA traces its roots to the Kuwait Investment Board, which was established in 1953, eight years before Kuwait's independence in 1961 In 1982, KIA was created by Law No.

As of October 2023, it is the world's 5th largest sovereign wealth fund with US$803 billion in assets under management.

The fund's value has soared from $803 billion in July 2023 to $923.45 billion currently, marked by 811 transactions. Despite this remarkable growth, Kuwait's Sovereign Fund, known as “Future Generations,” maintains its fifth position among the world's largest sovereign wealth funds in terms of asset size.

Since Kuwait's liberation, the United States has provided military and defense technical assistance to Kuwait from both foreign military sales (FMS) and commercial sources. The U.S. Office of Military Cooperation in Kuwait is attached to the American embassy and manages the FMS program.

Why is Kuwait in debt? ›

Kuwait's financial sector has been subject to two major payment shocks in recent years: the collapse of the unofficial stock exchange, the Souk Al-Manakh in 1982, which resulted in bankruptcies on a wide scale; and the Iraqi invasion, which destroyed physical assets and rendered many of the loans held by the Kuwaiti ...

The stability and value of the Kuwaiti dinar is due to a number of factors, including Kuwait's strong economy, its sound financial system, and the tight management of the currency by the Central Bank of Kuwait. The Kuwaiti government also has a strong financial position, with no public debt and a large budget surplus.

Aliah Al Tameemi, the Head of Alternatives of the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), has been replaced by Salah Al Muraikhi, a Director of the Hedge Funds program. This represents the latest move among the sovereign wealth fund's executive management, which has seen 70% of its members (including all heads of...

To attract foreign investment, Kuwait passed a foreign direct investment law in 2013 permitting up to 100 percent foreign ownership of a business, for entities approved by the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA).

Like most other Arab states in the Persian Gulf, Kuwait is an emirate; the emir is the head of state and the ruling Al Sabah family dominates the country's political system.

Nominal (current) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Kuwait is $184,558,000,000 (USD) as of 2022. Real GDP (constant, inflation adjusted) of Kuwait reached $112,381,000,000 in 2022. GDP Growth Rate in 2022 was 8.18%, representing a change of 8,645,000,000 US$ over 2021, when Real GDP was $105,708,000,000.

In an attempt to attract foreign investment to help diversify the economy and grow private sector employment, Kuwait passed a new foreign direct investment law in 2013 permitting up to 100 percent foreign ownership of a business, if approved by the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA).

However, Capital Markets Authority (Kuwait) is the overall regulator of Boursa Kuwait.

KIA Board Member & Managing Director

Ghanem Suleiman Al-Ghenaiman has over 30 years' experience in investments and assets management across different asset classes and geographies.