Kuwait's central bank has asked banks to freeze all transactions with Saudi firms Saad Group and Gosaibi Group, a newspaper reported on Friday.

The central bank has requested that banks freeze all transactions and accounts related to Saad Group, owned by Saudi billionaire Maan al-Sanea, and Abdulaziz al-Gosaibi Group, owned by prominent conglomerate Al Gosaibi, Rai newspaper said citing banking sources.

Officials at the central bank were not immediately available for comment.

The move comes days after it has emerged that the Saudi central bank froze some accounts related to Saad and Gosaibi groups.

The accounts freeze could reverberate throughout the region since Sanea and the companies he controls form a key part of the closely knit commercial world of the Arabian peninsula. Several of those companies have suffered setbacks in recent weeks.

Sanea owns Bahrain-based Awal Bank, either directly or through Saad Group, according to the bank's website.

On Monday, Saad Group announced it plans to restructure the debt of subsidiaries affected by the repercussions of the global financial crisis.

Moody's said it downgraded a number entities related to Saad Group, including Saad Trading Contracting & Financial Services Co, Saad Investments Co Ltd and Saad Group Ltd, to B1 - termed 'high-yield' or 'junk' by market participants - and more downgrades could come.

Saadgroup Ltd, based in the Cayman Islands, had total assets of $30.6 billion at year-end 2008, Moody's said.-Reuters