Country Report Kuwait May 2011

Economic performance: KIA to invest in local real estate

The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the country's sovereign wealth fund, has announced plans to establish a US$3.6bn fund to invest in local commercial real estate. According to KUNA, the state news agency, the portfolio will initially be managed by Kuwait Finance House. The move reflects an effort to bolster the ailing commercial real estate sector where prices have been depressed since the financial crisis, largely owing to an oversupply of properties. The sector is likely to come under further pressure particularly given the release of more than 70 floors of office space with the completion of Kuwait's tallest building, the Al Hamra Tower, later in 2011. The KIA has previously invested in the Kuwaiti stockmarket in order to support the bourse and improve liquidity during the financial crisis.

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