Kuwait's Public Investment Authority says its sells stake in Areva at a loss

PIA says despite loss it has booked profit of 45.2 billion dinar since 2010

Areva's nuclear power plant at Civaux, France. The PIA began selling down its stake in the company in 2014. Bloomberg

Kuwait's Public Investment Authority (PIA) has sold its shares in French energy company Areva at a steep loss, nearly seven years after first investing in the company, Kuwait's official news agency, KUNA, reported.

The sovereign wealth fund, which manages money for the future welfare of Kuwait's citizens, said it sold its 4.8 per cent stake for €83 million (Dh359m), adding that it was keen to diversify investments without being affected by losses in a single investment. The PIA said it bought a 4.8 per cent stake in Areva in December 2010 for €600m and started selling down its stake starting from 2014.

The fund reached a deal with the French government to sell it its stake as trading in the shares of the company are not that liquid.

It said the losses in Areva, which specializes in nuclear power and renewable energy, were due to the tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 and which destroyed the Fukushima nuclear reactor. After that disaster, nuclear shares steadily lost their value and the sovereign wealth fund decided to sell the shares.

The PIA said it had booked profits of more than 45.2 billion Kuwaiti dinars (Dh549bn) between 2010-2011 to 2016-2017, the period that it held the shares.