Kuwait appoints new head of $1trn wealth fund

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Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, has appointed a new managing director.

Sheikh Al-Sabah, a fund board member, will assume the role, replacing Ghanem Al-Ghenaiman, whose four-year term was cut short as he reached retirement age, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources.

The change in top leadership comes as the fund navigates a period of economic and political transition in the Gulf region. However, it will not alter the fund’s strategic focus.

KIA plans to continue prioritising investments in artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, data centres, and semiconductors, the report said.

The fund, overseen by Kuwait’s finance minister, remains heavily invested in the US market, which accounts for over half of its portfolio, followed by holdings in the European Union, the UK, Asia, and various emerging markets.

• Gulf wealth funds put investing in US well ahead of China
• Kuwait opens wealth fund office in Saudi Arabia
• Al Mukhaizeem to head Kuwait fund’s London office

This week, Qatar named a new CEO for its $510 billion sovereign fund, while the $1 trillion Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) is working on a new strategy.

The KIA is one of the Middle East’s biggest wealth funds and the world’s fifth-largest, according to Global SWF.

The fund’s portfolio includes global stakes in ports, airports and power distribution systems. 

It acquired a stake in Citigroup during the 2008 financial crisis, but later sold it for a profit of more than $1 billion, Bloomberg said.