Most of Kuwait’s multibillion-dollar investment company industry could be wiped out by debt repayments on the finance houses’ leveraged investments made before the recession, senior bankers have warned.
Spurred by cheap credit, abundant liquidity and few other opportunities in the government-dominated economy, Kuwaitis have set up scores of investment houses to bet on international and regional real estate, private equity and stocks. At its peak, the industry had assets of more than $50bn.
However, much of the spree was financed by short-term loans, and the financial crisis hit the local investment houses like a tsunami, said one analyst.
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