Kuwait Mulls $165bln Investment Firm

Kuwait is considering creating a major investment company with a capital of 50 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($165 billion) to invest in energy, transport and other projects, local press reports said.

Finance Minister Noura Al-Fassam has submitted the proposal to the cabinet for approval, the Arabic language daily Alqabas said.

The paper quoted ministry sources as saying the government would fund the new company which will invest in “projects covering energy, transport, infrastructure, smart cities and industrial zones.”

“A study by the ministry has found that this investment entity will have a strong positive effect on the Kuwaiti economy as it will contribute to major projects and ease budget burdens by 30 percent...it will also attract private and foreign investment worth nearly KWD10 billion ($33 billion)” the report said.

“A visual demonstration about the new company’s structure showed that it will lead to  great development of Kuwait’s infrastructure and this will boost the country’s competitiveness regional and internationally,” it added.

Alqabas quoted the sources as saying priority could be given to such projects as solar and wind energy, green hydrogen, new power facilities, tourism island, industrial and economic zones, shopping malls, road expansions and export-oriented projects.

The company will have an authorised capital of KWD50 billion to be funded by the government through “capital call drawdown.”

The study is proposing a six-year time schedule for the creation of the new entity, including its structure, capital and project approval.

“In 2028, it will issue bonds and sukuk worth KWD4.5 billion ($15 billion) to finance projects…investments will be expanded in the following two years,” it said.

The report did not mention how the government will fund the massive capital but Kuwait has just revived an old law allowing it to borrow up to $100 billion over a period of 50 years to shore up its fiscal deficit and fund infrastructure projects.

Kuwait’s Investment Authority, the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, is also the world’s fifth largest SWF with assets of more than $1 trillion, according to the SWF Institute.

The founding OPEC member said this year it is planning new solar energy and conventional electricity projects to tackle a chronic power supply shortage caused by rapid growth in demand and project shortage.