Kuwait's Global posts Q1 net loss of $240m

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Kuwait's Global Investment House, the country's biggest investment bank, said on Thursday it made a first quarter net loss of KD69.5 million ($239.9 million), mainly on investment losses.

Global, which defaulted on most of its debt earlier this year, is among the most prominent firms in the Gulf Arab state's financial sector to face serious problems amid tight credit conditions.

The loss is a relative improvement after a KD360.5 million loss it posted in the fourth quarter last year. Global made net profit of KD34.7 million in the first quarter of 2008, it said in a statement on Thursday.