Kuwait fund says more than doubled UK investment in past 10 years

The Kuwait Investment Authority has more than doubled its investment in Britain over the past 10 years to more than $24 billion, Bader Mohammed al-Saad, managing director of the KIA said on Friday.

Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund, which manages state assets in the world’s fourth-biggest oil exporter, is the oldest sovereign fund tracked by the SWF Institute with an estimated $342 billion in assets, one of the world’s largest.

“The KIO now manages more than $120 bln globally compared with only $27 bln 10 years ago,” Saad said.

“The KIA has invested more than $24 billion in the UK across all asset classes, sectors and industries. 10 years ago it was $9 billion,” he said at an investor lunch in London on Friday. The lunch marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Kuwait Investment Office, the fund’s main investment arm.

“In the world of trade and industry, the close co-operation between the KIA and the United Kingdom is a force for good which I believe will continue and grow in the years to come,” he added.

The KIO has around $9.24 bln invested in equities according to Thomson Reuters data, with stakes in companies including BP, Vodafone and HSBC.