Kuwait wealth fund eyes Europe, US projects

Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund, plans to invest in European and US infrastructure projects, its managing director said.

The fund, which has an estimated US$261bn of assets under management, is interested in investing in Texas Pacific Group and CBC, Badr Al Saad told Al Arabiya at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“We think that these countries need to develop their infrastructure. We think that investments in infrastructure will be big in the next five years,” said Al Saad.

KIA, established in 1976 to invest outside Kuwait, is investing in private equity funds and shunning low-yielding bonds, he added. 

Local newspaper al-Qabas earlier in the month said 47 percent of KIA funds are invested in stocks and its total assets under management stood at KWD73.63bn (US$261bn) at the end of March.