DUBAI — Kuwait is set to create a new sovereign wealth fund to develop megaprojects and bring in foreign direct investment to its private sector, with the goal of boosting its economy and making it less reliant on oil, according to government documents made available on Sunday.
The new Ciyada Development Fund will lead domestic investment projects intended to fuel and diversify Kuwait’s economy, according to government plans shared with Reuters.
The Gulf country already has the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) with assets of about $803 billion, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. KIA is the fifth-largest sovereign wealth fund globally, with Abu Dhabi’s Investment Authority ahead in fourth place with $853 billion, and the second-largest in the Middle East and North Africa, according to the institute.
The Ministry of Finance and KIA have been tasked with studying the plans for the proposed fund. No value for the fund or specific projects it will undertake have been revealed.
