Fitch Ratings on June 7 affirmed Kuwait-based Gulf Investment Corp. GSC's long- and short-term issuer default ratings at A-/F1 and removed the ratings from Rating Watch Negative, where they were placed in March.

The outlook on the long-term issuer default rating is stable. The A- rating is driven by the support that Fitch believes the GIC would receive from its shareholders, the six countries that form the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The rating agency said that in the absence of callable capital and despite the GIC's strategic role as a regional development investor, shareholders' propensity to support the institution is moderate, reflecting the institution's relatively modest share of total financing in the region and the recent diplomatic spat between several GCC member states.

The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.