Kuwait remains in money market pain

* username: rupertbu

Kuwait’s stock market may this year be tentatively recovering from the global financial crisis, but the country’s money market funds are still in intensive care.

There are relatively few money market funds in the Gulf, but Kuwaiti investment companies and banks manage dozens. These had assets of about KD1bn at the market peak in 2008, according to estimates by Kamco, the asset management arm of Kipco, an investment company backed by the Kuwaiti royal family.

Money market funds typically invest in short-term debt securities such as Treasury bills and commercial paper, and – although some US funds wobbled in the wake of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy – are usually seen as a safe and liquid investment for both institutions and individuals.