Mahmoud Ahmed Al-Kandari

Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is the Government of Kuwait's investment arm which was established in 1982 to take over the responsibility of managing the assets of Kuwait from the Ministry of Finance. Headquartered in Kuwait City with a branch office in London, UK, the KIA manages the General Reserve Fund and the Future Generations Fund and may also manage any other funds entrusted to it by the Minister of Finance. All of the assets are owned by the State of Kuwait. The Authority invests in local, Arab and international markets, aiming to achieve long-term investment returns on the financial reserves entrusted to them by the State of Kuwait by providing an alternative to oil reserves. KIA contributes to financing and developing projects in third world countries and projects that contribute to supporting the economic infrastructure of those countries are of special interest to them. These projects are usually undertaken in coordination with development plans proposed by the World Bank and the United Nations as well as within bilateral agreements reached between Kuwait and the recipient countries. The Kuwait Investment Office is the KIA's City of London branch.