KUWAIT: The new board of directors of Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) held its first meeting on Tuesday and unanimously elected new member Sheikh Saud Salem Al-Sabah as the new managing director for the country’s agency that runs hundreds of billions of surpluses. Sheikh Saud was among five new members appointed to the board of directors by an Amiri decree on Monday.
The meeting was chaired by KIA chairman, Minister of Electricity and Water and acting minister of finance Sabeeh Al-Mukhaizeem. Mukhaizeem said in a statement that the KIA board of directors will continue its policy to develop the Authority, strengthen governance and manage state funds at a high degree of competence. This, he added, will boost KIA’s strategic role in supporting the national economy and enhance Kuwait’s position at the map of global investments.
Mukhaizeem was appointed acting finance minister following the resignation of Noura Al-Fassam as finance minister after one year of office. No reason was given for the resignation of Fassam, an experienced economist and banker. Kuwait does not officially announce the size of its assets run by KIA, but unofficial reports put the investments at around $1 trillion. In the meantime, a three-day donation campaign to raise funds for the Gaza relief collected over KD 5 million on its third and final day, the ministry of social affairs said on Tuesday.
