Value of Kuwait foreign investment up by 10 billion US dollars

Kuwait's 1996/97 earnings from its huge foreign investments could exceed the actual oil revenue of over three billion dinars (9.85 billion US dollars) of the previous fiscal year, Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) said on July 29.

"Preliminary estimates indicate that our return on investment in 1996/97 (July-June) could exceed the state's 1995/96 oil revenue of more than three billion dinars," KIA chief Ali al Bader said.

The value of KIA's global holdings are a state secret, but banking sources estimate the current worth of the investment portfolio at around 40 billion US dollars.

"Return in 1995/96 was about 18 percent and 1996/97 is expected to be around 20 percent. It all depends on world market performance," he added.