It came to the knowledge of “Al Rai” newspaper that the Board of Directors of the Investment Authority has approved in its meeting yesterday, the appointment of Farooq Bastaki as Managing Director replacing Bader Al Saad, who will continue as a member of the Board of Directors.
“Al Rai” revealed in its issue dated 20 February 2017 that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Anas Al Saleh, has issued a decision to reconstitute the Board of Directors of the Investment Authority, introducing material changes to the composition of the Board affecting the Managing Director and the members representing the private sector. The Authority’s Board of Directors is appointed pursuant to a decree while the Managing Director is elected by the Board of Directors which convened yesterday for that purpose.
Another decree was issued recently appointing members of the Board of Directors of the Investment Authority as of 20 April 2017, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Anas Al Saleh, pursued by the Minister of Oil Issam Al Marzouq, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait Dr. Mohammad Al Haashil. The Decree further appointed:
Bader Mohammad Al Saad,
Farooq Ali Bastaki,
Hamad Youssef Al Saqer,
Bader Abdel Mohsen El Jeaan; and
Ahmad Mohammad Al Aiban
as members of the Board of Directors for a term of 4 years. Sources reported that the Board of Directors formed during its meeting the Executive Committee of the “Authority” chaired by Bastaki, with the Ministers represented in the Board as members, and with Bader Al Saad, Bader El Jeaan, Ahmad Al Saqer, as well as the undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance Khalifa Hamada as members of the executive committee. The Board of Directors has further formed an audit committee chaired by Ahmad Al Aiban with Hamada and El Jeaan as members.
Farooq Al Bastaki received his BA in Industrial Engineering from the University of Miami in the United States of America in 1984 and started his career in the private sector in 1985. Afterwards, Bastaki joined the Kuwait Investment Authority in 1989 and held the following positions:
– Executive Director of the alternative investments sector (2006-2017)
– Director of the Direct Investments Department (1989).
Since 1995, Bastaki has been a member of the board of directors of a number of local and foreign companies. He is a member of the board of directors of each of St Martin Real Estate Company – United Kingdom, Forsterlane Realty Inc. – United States, and of the National Fund for Arab Economic Development – Kuwait.
During his work at the Authority, Bastaki also was responsible for the transactions of hedge funds and the special investments funds, in addition to real estate investments and infrastructure.
Furthermore, Bastaki was the chairman of the National Technology Enterprises Company (one of the companies of the Investment Authority) from 2008 till 2015. He is the representative of the Authority in the board of directors of Gulf Bank since 2009, and he was the Director General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.
According to unofficial data, the value of investments managed by the Authority amounts to approximately $592 million dollars in many countries, knowing that the Authority was established in 1982 pursuant to Law No. 47 as an independent governmental authority responsible for the management of the State’s financial assets.