Kuwait Investment Authority
| الهيئة العامة للإستثمار | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Al Asimah Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | Ministry of Finance |
| Child agency |
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| Website | Official Website |
The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund (as of February 2014 ranked 6th place according to the SWF Institute),[1] managing body, specializing in local and foreign investment.
History and profile
KIA was founded on 23 February 1953[2] to manage the funds of the Kuwaiti Government in light of financial surpluses after the discovery of oil. KIA is the world's first and oldest sovereign wealth fund.[3]
KIA manages the Kuwait General Reserve Fund, the Kuwait Future Generations Fund, as well as any other assets committed by the Ministry of Finance.
To put KIA's size into perspective, the Kuwait Future Generations Fund has 10% of annual oil revenues added to it. As of fiscal year 2004/2005, the annual contribution to the Kuwait Future Generations Fund was valued at 896.24 million Kuwaiti dinars (USD$3.07 billion).
KIA's board of directors is headed by the minister of finance[4] with other seats allocated to the Energy Minister, Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, and 5 other nationals who are experts in the field, 3 of which should not hold any other public office.
The value of assets was about $200 billion in 2008.[3] KIA is estimated to hold in excess of $300 billion of assets, and is reportedly one of the largest Sovereign Wealth Funds in the World.
The Chinese regulator awarded Kuwait Investment Authority an additional $700 million quota on top of $300 million awarded in March 2012. The quota is the highest to be granted by China to foreign investment entities.[5]
Grupo Torras
In 1986, the KIA's London based subsidiary, the Kuwait Investment Office (KIO), bought control of Torras Hostench, a Spanish paper maker. Torras subsequently took over a number of other companies to become Grupo Torras in June 1988. KIO invested about $2.5 billion in building up the company and another $1.8 billion to shore it up after the end of Spain's 1980s economic boom and the annexation of Kuwait by Iraq. However, in December 1992 Grupo Torras entered receivership among accusations of fraud, and Kuwait's investment was a total loss. One of its projects was the Gate of Europe twin towers in Madrid, which was still incomplete when the company collapsed.[6]
See also
References
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. – via HighBeam (subscription required)
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