Capital Markets
From The Report: Kuwait 2013
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With the National Development Plan providing a stable foundation for future expansion, the government is working towards revamping legislation in order to allow for some restructuring. There are also efforts under way to diversify the bourse, which will include increasingly popular and varied sharia-compliant financial instruments. As the markets continue to recover, corporate debt issuance is also on the rise. This chapter contains interviews with Saleh Al Falah, Chairman, Kuwait Capital Markets Authority; and Faisal Sarkhou, CEO, KAMCO.
Articles from this Chapter
Sea change: A new regulatory framework is expected to drive expansion
OBG talks to Saleh Al Falah, Chairman, Kuwait Capital Markets Authority (CMA)OBGplus
Interview:Saleh Al Falah How will privatising the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) boost its competiveness in the region? SALEH AL FALAH: Building a competitive, functioning stock exchange is very important to facilitate investments inside Kuwait, as well as to attract foreign direct investment. When I say that the country needs to attract investments, I don’t mean money; we need to attract expertise. While privatising the stock exchange is a unique task which poses many legal and technical…
OBG talks to Faisal Sarkhou, CEO, KAMCOOBGplus
Interview:Faisal Sarkhou What can the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) do to encourage market depth and sophistication? FAISAL SARKHOU: Kuwait falls into what is known as a frontier market. International investors prefer looking at investing in emerging markets, which are considered a level above frontier markets in terms of depth, breadth, transparency, corporate governance, market capitalisation and liquidity levels. However, to achieve that status, the economy requires, among other things,…
Under new management: The government aims to privatise the stock exchangeOBGplus
In an effort to ensure increased efficiency and the expansion of Kuwait’s capital markets, the government is working to privatise the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) before the end of 2013. The plan to float the bourse – the oldest in the GCC region – is closely linked with the recent structural and regulatory overhaul of the wider capital markets sector. Indeed, Kuwait’s new Capital Markets Law (CML), which was passed in February 2010, included an official plan to privatise the market and…
Ups and downs: The investment segment has faced market volatility in recent yearsOBGplus
The rise of investment companies (ICs) in Kuwait began in the late 1990s, when easy access to bank credit and low regulatory barriers to entry resulted in a jump in the number of firms participating in the country’s capital markets. According to data from the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), by the end of 2001 the nation was home to 26 conventional ICs and 11 sharia-compliant ICs, which together had total assets of around KD4bn ($14.3bn). By the end of 2007 there were 40 conventional ICs and 39…
On the threshold: After a period of decline, the bond market is poised for expansionOBGplus
Historically, Kuwait has played a major role in regional debt markets. The country has been the source of bond issuances of various sorts and sizes since the 1960s, making it one of the oldest bond markets in the GCC. Through the early and mid-2000s the nation’s domestic debt market grew steadily, driven primarily by government-issued debt offerings. The expansion during the first half of the decade was in line with the regional bond market, which grew substantially during this period. According…
Burgan Bank: BankingOBGplus
BURGAN market ratios THE COMPANY: Burgan Bank, a subsidiary of Kuwait Projects (KIPCO), is a Kuwait-based commercial bank with a regional presence in seven countries, incorporated in 1975 and engaged in the provision of banking and investment services to individuals and corporations. Burgan was listed on the Kuwaiti Bourse in 1984 with a current market capitalisation of $3bn. Despite being considered the youngest commercial bank in Kuwait, Burgan ranks among the top Kuwaiti banks having the third-largest asset base of $21bn as of December 2012. Burgan’s presence in the domestic market as well as throughout the MENA region and in Turkey through…
Burgan Bank: BankingOBGplus
BURGAN market ratios THE COMPANY: Burgan Bank, a subsidiary of Kuwait Projects (KIPCO), is a Kuwait-based commercial bank with a regional presence in seven countries, incorporated in 1975 and engaged in the provision of banking and investment services to individuals and corporations. Burgan was listed on the Kuwaiti Bourse in 1984 with a current market capitalisation of $3bn. Despite being considered the youngest commercial bank in Kuwait, Burgan ranks among the top Kuwaiti banks having the third-largest asset base of $21bn as of December 2012. Burgan’s presence in the domestic market as well as throughout the MENA region and in Turkey through…
Gulf Insurance Group: InsuranceOBGplus
GIG price & index relative performance Gulf Insurance Group market ratios THE COMPANY: Gulf Insurance Group (GIG) was established in 1962 as a Kuwaiti shareholding company and is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of $330m. GIG is a market leader in Kuwait in terms of premiums written, both in life and nonlife. GIG provides innovative and comprehensive insurance solutions and covers a variety of risks related to motor, marine and aviation, property and casualty, and life and health insurance both in conventional and takaful, or Islamic insurance. Its major shareholders are Kuwait Projects (KIPCO) and Fairfax…
Mabanee: Real estateOBGplus
Mabanee price & index relative performance Mabanee market ratios THE COMPANY:Mabanee is a shareholding real estate firm widely known for owning The Avenues shopping mall. It was listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in late 1999 and is currently the largest real estate company, with a market capitalisation of $2.7bn, representing around 32% of the Kuwaiti real estate sector. The Avenues is designed to unfold in four phases, three of which are currently operational. Phase I was completed in April 2007 and Phase II opened in April 2008, adding to the company’s success and bringing in a target market and unique offering that was new to Kuwait.…
Zain: TelecommunicationsOBGplus
ZAIN price & index relative performance ZAIN market ratios THE COMPANY: Zain Group is a Kuwait-based public shareholding company engaged in the provision of mobile telecoms and data services in eight MENA countries. Zain was incorporated in June 1983 and listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in March 1985. Zain currently ranks fourth in terms of market capitalisation in the region with $11bn. Zain reported a net profit of KD252m ($900m) in 2012, down 11% from KD285m ($1.01bn) in 2011. This decline was caused by a drop in margins as competition heated up, resulting in revenues falling 3% to KD1.28bn ($4.5bn) in 2012 from KD1.32bn ($4.7bn)…
