In 2020, it bought an additional stake in BlackRock Inc. The KIO has been a prolific investor in the past year, participating in the US listing of private equity TPG Inc., according to the people. It was later placed under the Kuwait Investment Authority and still manages about a third of the oil exporter’s sovereign assets, people familiar with the matter previously said. The KIO - previously known as the Kuwait Investment Board - was established in London in 1953, eight years before Kuwait gained its independence. Read More: This $600 Billion Wealth Fund Got Caught in a Power Struggle With oil prices rallying this year, mainly because of the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, S&P expects Kuwait to run a cumulative surplus of 18% of gross domestic product over 2022-23. The government has been unable to borrow since its debut Eurobond in 2017, forcing it to rely on its General Reserve Fund instead. The issues at KIA come amid years of political dysfunction in Kuwait, which has stymied efforts to diversify the economy of the fourth-biggest OPEC oil producer. The fund boosted its holdings of US assets when markets plunged in 2020, and the FGF reported returns of 33% for the year ended March 2021. The KIA, which manages the Future Generations Fund and the General Reserve Fund, is the world’s oldest sovereign fund with stakes in ports, airports and power distribution systems around the world.

The ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaint sent outside of normal office hours. According to a copy of the filing seen by Bloomberg News, Al-Ateeqi said authorities refused to dismiss an employee he suspected of spying on the wealth fund. Separately, a legal battle with the KIO’s former head of fixed income earlier this month has brought unwelcome scrutiny, with a court order to hand over internal documents that the the fund called “remarkable and invasive.” The fund has asserted diplomatic immunity in the employment case, prompting the UK’s Foreign Office to weigh in on whether its employees have diplomatic protections.Īl-Ateeqi has also filed a complaint with Kuwait’s general prosecutor against Kuwait’s finance minister, who oversees the KIA. He also clashed with some long-tenured employees at the fund, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing internal matters. for roles including a chief investment officer and a head of strategy. Last week, KIA said in memos to staff that Hussain Al-Halabi would replace Al-Ateeqi with immediate effect, and that Al-Ateeqi would leave without serving the customary three-month notice period.Īl-Ateeqi increased KIO’s assets and sought to modernize the unit by hiring executives from Barclays Plc and Carlyle Group Inc. The Kuwait Investment Authority wasn’t immediately available for comment. It wasn’t immediately clear if his ouster would lead to a change in strategy.Ī representative for Al-Ateeqi declined to comment. Unlike its parent, the KIO mainly invests directly, predominantly in public equities and fixed income. partner, Al-Ateeqi was hired in 2018 to modernize the Kuwait Investment Office, or KIO as the London branch is known. Some have tried to modernize, with Mubadala, Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority among entities who’ve revamped their approach to investing.Ī former McKinsey & Co. Such spats are unusual in the Middle East, where sovereign funds - key tools for oil-rich states to diversify their economies - operate in secrecy at the highest ranks of society.

Al-Ateeqi’s removal highlights internal divisions within the Kuwaiti fund that risk spilling out into the public domain.

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