Gulfinvest International, dropped from the list of investment firms in Kuwait, on Sunday said its creditors may own a stake in the company as part of initial approval for its debt restructuring plan.

'Creditors will keep the guarantees they have and transfer the (debt) not covered by guarantees into a contribution in the company's capital,' the company said in a statement on the Kuwait bourse website. This would mean the company has settled all its debts, it added.

Under the plan, current shareholders will have the priority to own a stake in the new capital, the company said, adding that a new strategic partner will be allowed in after consultation with the firm's restructuring adviser.

Last year, Gulfinvest defaulted on a Dh200 million ($54.47 million) loan from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank for which investment bank Shuaa Capital was a guarantor.

Kuwait's central bank last Monday removed the company from the list of investment firms in the country.

Kuwaiti investment houses were hard hit by the financial crisis, which prompted the government of the world's fourth-largest oil exporter to approve a $5 billion rescue package in 2009.-Reuters