Kuwait’s Global Investment House Seeks To Relist In Kuwait -CEO

Kuwait’s Global Investment House said on Tuesday it aimed to relist its shares on the Kuwaiti bourse, after its listing was cancelled last year because of accumulated debt.

In an interview with Reuters, Global’s chief executive Maha Al Ghoneim said the company was now “debt-free” following its debt restructuring last year.

She added that the relisting would be discussed at an annual general meeting next Sunday. Subject to shareholder approval, Global’s board of directors will start the necessary procedures with Kuwait’s Capital Market Authority, Al Ghoneim said.

Al Ghoneim did not specify a time frame for the company’s return to the bourse, noting that the process would be subject to the regulator’s approval.

Global is currently focusing on asset management, investment banking and brokerage businesses in Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council markets, Al Ghoneim said. It manages $4.2 billion of assets.

The company, whose shares are also listed in Bahrain and Dubai, was hit hard by the global financial crisis. It underwent two restructurings in the space of several years, asking creditors in September 2011 to suspend payments under a $1.7 billion debt plan agreed in 2009.