Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
's
sovereign wealth fund
A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), sovereign investment fund, or social wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such ...
, managing the state’s reserve and the state’s future generation fund (FGF).
Founded in 1953, the KIA is the world's oldest sovereign wealth fund. As of April 2022, it was the world's 3rd largest sovereign wealth fund with US$738 billion in assets under management.
History and profile
KIA was founded on 23 February 1953 to manage the funds of the Kuwaiti Government in light of financial surpluses after the discovery of
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
. KIA is the world's oldest sovereign wealth fund.
KIA manages the Kuwait General Reserve Fund, the Kuwait Future Generations Fund, as well as any other assets committed by the
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance.
Lists of current ministries of finance
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Finance and Eco ...
. To put KIA's size into perspective, the Kuwait Future Generations Fund has 15% of annual oil revenues added to it.
KIA's
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
is headed by the minister of finance with other seats allocated to the
Energy Minister An energy minister is a position in many governments responsible for energy production and regulation, developing governmental energy policy, scientific research, and natural resources conservation. In some countries, environmental responsibilities ...
, Governor of the
Central Bank of Kuwait
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, and 5 other nationals who are experts in the field, 3 of which should not hold any other public office.
The Chinese regulator awarded Kuwait Investment Authority an additional $700 million quota on top of $300 million awarded in March 2012. The quota is the highest to be granted by China to foreign investment entities.
The Kuwait Investment Authority has an infrastructure arm and signed an agreement to acquire the oil and gas pipeline firm North Sea Midstream Partners Limited for approximately 1.3 billion GBP in 2018.
Grupo Torras
In 1986, the KIA's London based subsidiary, the Kuwait Investment Office (KIO), bought control of Torras Hostench, a Spanish paper maker. Torras subsequently took over a number of other companies to become Grupo Torras in June 1988. KIO invested about $2.5 billion in building up the company and another $1.8 billion to shore it up after the end of Spain's 1980s economic boom and the annexation of Kuwait by Iraq. However, in December 1992 Grupo Torras entered receivership among accusations of fraud, and Kuwait's investment was a total loss. One of its projects was the
Gate of Europe
The Gate of Europe towers ( es, Puerta de Europa, - Door of Europe-), also known as KIO Towers (''Torres KIO''), are twin office buildings near the Plaza de Castilla in Madrid, Spain. The towers have a height of and have 26 floors. They were co ...
twin towers in Madrid, which was still incomplete when the company collapsed.