1

1

E-mail Article

Printer Friendly

Share Article

Kuwait central bank reveals assets portfolio plan

Kuwait plans to set up a fund to buy up assets at a discount from investment firms, badly hit by the global financial crisis, as part of a plan to shore up the industry, the central bank governor said.

The move advances Kuwait's efforts to support its battered financial sector amid local media reports of billions of losses due to the crisis, which has forced the central bank to rescue the country's fourth largest lender, Gulf Bank.
The fund would purchase assets from investment firms at a level related to their fair value and the seller would issue a bond at the same time enabling it to repurchase the assets, according to a statement late on Wednesday.

It did not clarify several key points to the programme, such as size of the fund, the type of assets to be purchased, who would be eligible or the discount to be applied to the assets.

Sheikh Salem Abdul-Aziz al-Sabah also told state news agency KUNA the Kuwaiti economy was strong and able to weather any crisis as public expenditure would be able to provide enough support to boost consumer and investment spending.

The central banker also said the team responsible for tackling the impact of the financial crisis on the Kuwaiti economy is looking into several proposals to enhance confidence in the national economy.

Sabah earlier in November urged banks and financial firms to strengthen through consolidation in order to face down the crisis. (Reuters)

No Comments