Kuwait Projects Company (KIPC), Kuwait's largest corporate entity - and the third-largest diversified holding company by weighting on the Morgan Stanley Capital International Gulf Countries Index - is expected to report record profits this year according to its managing director and CEO Faisal Al-Ayyar.

In June KIPCO announced half-year revenues jumped 50% to US$254m, up by US$85m against US$169m in the first six months of 2005. Speaking at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) in September, Al Ayyar said the meetings had provided opportunity to meet with international corporations and sign agreements with financial and banking institutions.

He added that it was important that the private sector take part in the meetings as they allowed them the opportunity to benefit from expertise of developed countries in better investing financial surplus. Moreover, Al-Ayyar said KIPCO was seeking to further expand its operations in the Middle East and North Africa. And why not? Last year Al-Ayyar's Wataniya Telecom closed a US$490m financing for its mobile services subsidiary in Algeria, adding nearly US$500m to his total wealth.

The company is now a global financial services, media and telecommunications player, with interests in 73 companies. The group includes United Broadcasting, Wataniya Telecom, ShowNet, United Cable Company, United Gulf Bank, Gulf Insurance Company, Burgan Bank and KAMCO in the financial sector. Recently, Wataniya Telecom won the second Palestinian mobile phone license.

The Kuwaiti firm will own 40% of the operation that owns the license. Wataniya reported 988,203 subscribers in its domestic market of Kuwait as at 30 June 2006, an annual increase of 9.04% over the same period last year. Wataniya now has a share of 39.48% in a market that has reached a penetration level of 103.5% (30 June 2006).