Mumtalakat, the sovereign investment fund of Bahrain, has invested in a Kuwaiti gas company and a Spanish manufacturer of aluminium grain refiners.
Gulf Cryo, founded in 1953 as the Kuwait Oxygen and Acetylene Company, manufactures and distributes gases such as oxygen and nitrogen throughout the Gulf region. It operates in 12 countries and plans to set up an operation in Bahrain, according to a statement from Mumtalakat.
Aleastur, which makes aluminium alloys as well as grain refiners, is based in Spain and exports to 70 countries. Mumtalakat says its investment is part of an aim to support Bahrain’s domestic aluminium industry with strategic alliances.
Mumtalakat, which has a structure similar to a private equity vehicle, says it now has stakes in 40 commercial enterprises.
In 2015, the chief executive of the fund, Mahmood Hashim Al Koheeji, said the low oil price would not affect the fund’s investments since “we do not depend on government revenue”.
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