Goldman Sachs is in discussions with the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) for a potential $10bn investment mandate, as the Wall Street firm intensifies its push into private markets and strengthens its presence across the Middle East, according to Bloomberg.

Sources familiar with the matter have suggested that the funds would be allocated over several years across Goldman’s private equity, credit, and infrastructure vehicles. The talks remain ongoing, and there is no certainty the full commitment will be finalised.

The potential deal follows the opening of Goldman’s new Kuwait City office earlier this month, attended by Chief Executive David Solomon and Marc Nachmann, Global Head of Asset and Wealth Management. The move is part of the firm’s wider regional expansion, with offices already established in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. Goldman currently manages $374bn in private assets.

While a $10bn allocation would represent a small portion of KIA’s roughly $1tn portfolio, it would mark a major win for Goldman in its effort to compete with private markets giants including Blackstone, KKR, and Apollo Global Management for sovereign capital in the Gulf.

Goldman joins a growing list of international managers, among them Carlyle Group, Franklin Templeton, and State Street, that are setting up offices in Kuwait to strengthen ties with one of the world’s oldest and largest sovereign wealth funds. The expansion reflects Kuwait’s broader ambition to elevate its financial sector and attract more international investment activity, following similar moves by peers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

If secured, the mandate would underscore Goldman’s growing focus on private market strategies as a key driver of long-term growth and its ambition to capture a larger share of the Gulf’s sovereign wealth allocations.

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