The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) has more than doubled its investment in Britain over the past 10 years to more than $24 billion, said its top official.

Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund, which manages state assets in the world's fourth-biggest oil exporter, is the oldest sovereign fund tracked by the SWF Institute with an estimated $342 billion in assets, one of the world's largest.

The Kuwait Investment Office (KIO), the fund's main investment arm, now manages more than $120 billion globally compared with only $27 billion 10 years ago, remarked Bader Mohammed al-Saad, managing director of the KIA.

"The KIA has invested more than $24 billion in the UK across all asset classes, sectors and industries. 10 years ago it was $9 billion," stated Al Saad at an investor lunch in London on Friday.

The lunch marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the KIO. "In the world of trade and industry, the close co-operation between the KIA and the United Kingdom is a force for good which I believe will continue and grow in the years to come," he added.

The KIO has around $9.24 billion invested in equities according to Thomson Reuters data, with stakes in companies including BP , Vodafone and HSBC.-Reuters