Mittal buys stake in Kuwait steel firm

LNM, an Anglo-Indian steel firm, has bought a 51 per cent stake in the Kuwaiti-Bosnian Steel Co in Bosnia Herzegovina.

The signing ceremony was attended by the head of the Bosnian federal government, Ahmad Hadji-Pasic, and a Kuwait Investment Authority representative. Kuwait had rebuilt the devastated factory after the Bosnian war.

Hadji-Pasic said the new investment will raise annual output to two million tonnes a year and create jobs for nearly 4,000 Bosnians.

Lakshmi Mittal, chairman of LNM, said he would invest about $450 million over three years with $180 million in the first year. With the contract signed, Kuwait now holds 41 per cent of the facility while the Bosnian government owns eight per cent.

Kuwait has introduced new legislation and amended previous laws and regulations to encourage a stronger and smoother flow of foreign investment into the country, according to Dhirar Yousef Al Ganem, the board chairman of the Kuwait Financial Centre.

- The writer is a journalist based in Kuwait.