Boursa Kuwait, CMA highlight investment opportunities
KUWAIT: Further building on their global investor relations, Boursa Kuwait and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) met with institutional investors from Africa, Central, and Eastern Europe, Greece, Middle East and Russia as part of their participation in the annual CEEMEA Opportunities Conference, organized by JP Morgan and held at the company’s headquarters from 14-16 January 2020 in London.
During a series of one-on-one meetings with investors, Boursa Kuwait and the CMA highlighted current and future investment opportunities in the Kuwaiti capital market and shed light on the various initiatives being rolled out as part of the third phase of market developments with the objective of creating an attractive investment destination for issuers and investors. The organizations also gained exclusive insights into the needs and expectations of institutional investors, as well as their investment experience in the country.
They also discussed the latest developments in the national capital market including Kuwait’s recent reclassification from to ‘Emerging Market’ status by MSCI Inc. The official status upgrade by the leading benchmark provider in
December 2019 paves the way for the country’s inclusion in the prestigious MSCI emerging market index in May of 2020. This move follows Kuwait’s inclusion in S&P Dow Jones Indices’ Global Equity Indices, with Emerging Markets classification, as well as in the FTSE Russell Emerging Markets Index in the past two years.
Commenting on the meetings, Boursa Kuwait CEO Mohammed Al-Osaimi said, “Driven by its rapid growth and major accomplishments over the past few years, the Kuwaiti capital market has bolstered its position on the global investment map. With the Emerging Market status upgrade by MSCI alone, the country has opened up a new world of opportunities for foreign institutional investors. At Boursa Kuwait, we aim to raise awareness of the promising prospects the market holds with our participation in the CEEMEA Opportunities Conference and our meetings with potential investors. We remain committed to exploring new avenues to contribute to the Kuwaiti capital market’s further success and its transformation into an unparalleled investment destination.
Boursa Kuwait also took the opportunity to highlight the completion of its privatization last month, when it became the only stock exchange in the Middle East that is 94 percent owned by the private sector. On 8 December 2019, Boursa Kuwait marked the conclusion of the public offering of the Capital Markets Authority’s 50 percent stake in the company to Kuwaiti citizens with more than 8.5 times oversubscription. Earlier, in February 2019, a consortium of institutional investors bought a 44 percent stake in the company, while the remaining 6 percent is owned by the state-run pension fund, the Public Institute for Social Security.