KUWAIT: Kuwait Finance House, the country's biggest Islamic lender, said Sunday it signed a deal with Gulf Investment House to restructure the 49.5 million dinars ($180 million) it owes in debts. The agreement "includes converting the current debts from short term to medium term for a period of five years,” KFH said in a statement. The agreement was signed in collaboration with Boubyan Bank and Burgan Bank," KFH said. KFH, which owns a 30 percent stake in GIH, said it "is confident GIH will be able to continue to operate in line with its vision over the upcoming period as a result of the debt re-structuring." Problems at Kuwaiti investment firms, led the government of the world's fourth-largest oil exporter to approve a "Financial Stability Law" rescue package worth $5.2 billion in 2009.
