Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund denied it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Global Investment House to buy 20 percent of the firm's assets, state news agency Kuna reported.

"What has been reported... is incorrect," the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) said in a statement late on Monday.

Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida on Monday reported KIA had reached a deal with Global.

Global, which defaulted on most of its debt earlier this year, is one of the largest investment companies in the Gulf Arab state facing problems amid tight credit conditions.

The investment bank began talks to reschedule its debt in December, appointing HSBC as adviser.

Its chief executive, Badr Al-Sumait, told Al Arabiya television on Monday that the firm will resume partial debt repayments once an agreement is reached with its creditors.

Global on Sunday reported a net loss of 29 million dinars ($100.8 million) in the second quarter. Its net loss in the first half of the year totalled 98.6 million dinars.

"(Second-quarter) results did not show any improvement for Global... The picture is (further clouded by) prolonged speculation on the debt restructuring plan," Shuaa Capital said in a research note.

Difficulties experienced by Global and other investment firms, including major Islamic firm Investment Dar, led the government of the world's fourth-largest oil exporter to approve a rescue package worth 1.5 billion dinars earlier this year. - Reuters