Kuwait wealth fund’s London arm manages $250bn in assets

The London arm of Kuwait Investment Authority, which manages the country’s sovereign wealth fund, has $250bn of assets under management, KIA Chairman Saad Al Barrak said.

The Kuwait Investment Office’s AUM grew from $27bn in 2003 to $250bn this year, Al Barrak, who’s also minister of state for economic affairs and investments, said in London on Tuesday during an event marking the KIO’s 70th anniversary.

The figure is lower than one mentioned in a 2020-21 report by Kuwait’s State Audit Bureau, an accounting watchdog attached to the parliament, which said the KIO had assets of $264.5bn, as of March 31, 2021.

The KIA, which doesn’t usually disclose the value of its assets, manages the Future Generations Fund, estimated at over $700bn, as well as the General Reserve Fund, or treasury.

Kuwaiti investments in the UK have risen to $42 billion from $9 billion two decades ago, Al Barrak said, after the countries signed an MoU on investments on Tuesday. The Gulf state plans to boost its economic partnership with the UK and substantially increase investments there.

With current investments focused mainly on real estate and infrastructure, both sides are looking at how Kuwait can diversify its interests into areas such as technology, life sciences and renewables, while helping to create jobs in both countries. The two sides also signed a deal to cooperate on cybersecurity as part of Kuwait’s plans to develop a national center for cybersecurity.