Kuwait’s Global Investment House made a loss of $119.5m in the first half of 2010, a 65 per cent reduction compared with a loss of $342.5m in the same period last year.

The bank made a loss of $70.24m in the second quarter of 2010.

“During the first half of 2010, Global’s principal investment book’s annualised average losses reduced to 12.4 per cent compared to 17.4 per cent in the same period of last year,” reported Global in its half-year financial results published on 12 August.

“The performance of Global’s principal investment book continued to be negatively impacted by the market turbulence in the GCC and rest of the Mena [Middle East and North Africa] markets where Global’s principal investments are focused.”         

In December 2009, the bank reached a deal with creditors to reschedule $1.7bn in debt and entered into three-year facilities with each of its 53 lending banks.

On 21 July, Global made a $50m principal repayment of its bank debt. To date, the total principal repayments to the lending banks reached $78.9m, representing 46 per cent of the total repayments due by 10 December 2010.

“We remain pleased with the success of the strategy of focusing our efforts on developing the fee-generating lines of our core business, namely the asset management, investment banking and brokerage pillars of the company,” says Maha al-Ghunaim, managing director of Global.

These fee-based businesses generated operating income amounting to $41.7m and a profit of $23.6m during the first half of 2010.