With the first half of 2025 witnessing annualised traded values and volumes almost doubling, and its market capitalisation surging by nearly a quarter, this has been a banner year for the country’s stock market, Boursa Kuwait. Indeed, in the first six months of the year, double-digit gains in both Boursa Kuwait’s Main Market and Premier Market allowed the country to outperform all of the GCC’s exchanges, apart from Dubai Financial Market. By the end of the third quarter, however, Boursa Kuwait had outperformed Dubai’s exchange, to lead the GCC in year-to-date results.
Helping establish this success has been the rollout of a far-reaching Market Development Programme (MDP). Bolstering and widening the stock exchange’s activities and product offerings, the MDP is entering the second stage of its third phase in the second half of 2025. At the same time, there is widespread sentiment that Kuwait is now advancing much-needed economic and fiscal reforms – changes that are expected to lead to heightened capital markets activity in the coming years.
The passing of a new debt law in March 2025 is the key driving force behind this new sentiment, creating renewed international interest as Kuwait seeks to raise significant capital from international debt markets. A new mortgage law and additional reforms are also driving investor interest and project rollout to the benefit of Kuwait’s robust banking, real estate and financial services sectors – each of which are key pillars of its capital markets. While the next 12 months may hold uncertainties for much of the global economy, Kuwait has come a long way in a short time, re-establishing itself as a dependable and increasingly diversified market open to both global and local participation.
Structure & Regulation
Boursa Kuwait was established in 2014 and received its licence to operate as an exchange in 2016. Prior to that, the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) was the stock market, which was formally inaugurated in 1983. Boursa Kuwait became a self-listed exchange on the Premier Market in 2020 following a process of privatisation completed the previous year. In 2021 the exchange building underwent renovation, with a modern trading floor operational in January 2022. The exchange was included in the FTSE Emerging All Cap Index in 2018, the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Dow Jones Global Index in 2019 and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index the following year.
Boursa Kuwait is regulated by the Capital Markets Authority (Kuwait) (CMA), headquartered in Kuwait City. Established by Law No. 7 of 2010 and amended in 2014 and 2015, the CMA operates as an independent regulator under the supervision of the Council of Ministers (Kuwait) and is responsible for overseeing securities activities and capital market participants. In April 2025 Emad Ahmed Tifouni was appointed chairman of the CMA’s Board of Commissioners.
The CMA is an independent entity tasked with being the primary regulator and supervisor of capital markets. Additional duties include enhancing public awareness, enhancing investor protection and reducing systemic risks. The CMA issues rules in compliance with Law No. 1 of 2016 (the Companies Law) and licences for trading and other capital markets activities. It is also responsible for inspecting and reviewing activity and ensuring market participants meet regulatory obligations.
Best Practices
Another one of the CMA’s key responsibilities is strategic planning, involving coordination with a range of other bodies, including the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and a range of international capital markets bodies. The latter include the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, the Union of Arab Securities Authorities and the various capital markets authorities in other GCC member states.
A second key entity in the sector is the Kuwait Clearing Company (KCC) known as Maqasa, which is the central depository entity for the securities market, as well as its central clearing and settlement service. The KCC was established in 1982 in response to the Souk Al Manakh crash, when an earlier, unofficial Kuwaiti exchange collapsed that year. After establishing a strong reputation for its work in resolving that crisis, the KCC became the KSE’s central clearinghouse in 1986. A more recent milestone came in July 2025 when the CMA and the KCC unveiled their new central clearing counterpart (CCP) framework. This brings Kuwait further into alignment with international best practices and improves settlement efficiency and collateral management while reducing counterparty risk.
Plans & Programmes
The CCP move is part of a long-running programme of capital market reform and development in Kuwait. These plans are been part of the government’s overall long-term development programme, New Kuwait 2035, launched in 2017. This sets the goals of economic diversification, private sector growth and the modernisation of key sectors, finance among them. In September 2023 the Cabinet approved the fourth Kuwait Master Plan 2040 for urban, economic, social and environmental development within the country. The MDP aims to achieve the goals of New Kuwait 2035 and the Kuwait Master Plan 2040 within the capital markets. The MDP’s first phase of market development also began in 2017 with the introduction of new market-making regulations and other measures aimed at boosting liquidity. Post-trade activity was enhanced with the introduction of an interim post-trade model. The settlement cycle was subsequently reduced, with a period of three days after the trading day established.
The second phase of the MDP (MD 2), implemented in April 2018, saw further reform. This included the introduction of a three-tiered, segmented market of indexes – Premier Market, Main Market and Auction Market. In addition, new circuit breakers for securities and indexes were installed, along with new listing requirements. The first batch of the third phase of the MDP (MD 3.1) was then launched in 2019 and had an expected April 2025 completion date. This phase included reforms such as upgrading the business models of financial brokerage firms to a qualified broker model, and requiring brokers and brokerages to obtain a new licence from the CMA. There were also a number of qualitative changes in work methods within the market’s authorities. These included cash settlements through the CBK and the establishment of a chain of financial collateral.
In 2025 the MDP entered the second batch of its third phase. This saw the establishment of the CCP, along with a wide range of other upgrades to the market’s structures and ways of doing business. Ten brokerage firms have been upgraded to the qualified broker status introduced in MD 3.1, while a range of new systems for bonds, sukuk (Islamic bonds) and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been introduced. Sub-account numbers within qualified accounts are another reform, with these applying to both electronic and investment portfolios. The period ahead will likely see these reforms bring greater transparency, depth and efficiency across Kuwait’s rapidly transforming markets, as well as the likely arrival of platforms for sukuk, bonds and ETFs.
Market Structure
The MD 2 restructuring of the market into three tiers according to capitalisation, along with the creation of a number of sectoral boards, created the contemporary shape of the securities market. The Premier Market is the flagship, blue-chip, mid-to-large market capitalisation level, with a requirement that listed companies have a free float of KD45m ($146.5m), an operating history of at least seven years and a listing history of at least two. There is a rule that a minimum of 450 shareholders have shares of at least KD10,000 ($32,600) each. The maintenance of an average market capitalisation of KD78m ($254m) is also required.
As of October 2025, 33 companies were listed on the Premier Market. The financial services sector was the most numerous, with nine listings, followed by banking with eight, industrials with five, real estate with four, consumer discretionary with three, telecoms with two, and consumer staples and basic materials with one each. The Premier Market had a total market capitalisation of KD43.2bn ($140.5bn) at the end of the third quarter of 2025. The top-five sectors in terms of value were banking, responsible for approximately 48.6% of the Premier Market’s total value, followed by financial services, with 23.9%, industrials, with 9.2%, consumer discretionary, with 5.4%, and real estate, with 6.5%.
The Main Market, meanwhile, sets equally rigorous standards but allows smaller companies to list. Until recently, the capital limit for a company on this market had been set at a minimum of KD15m ($48.8m), with at least 450 shareholders holding shares of at least KD5000 ($16,300) each, or 225 shareholders holding shares of at least KD10,000 ($32,600). Three full years of operations prior to listing are required, with financial statements issued for all those years. In 2025, however, Boursa Kuwait authorities announced that they were reducing the capital limit to KD5m ($16.3m), with consequent changes to share ownership and value.
As of end-September 2025, the Main Market had 107 participants. Of these, 36 were from the financial services sector; 25 from real estate, 15 from industrials; eight each from insurance and consumer discretionary; five from energy; two each from telecoms; health care and basic materials; and one each from consumer staples, utilities, technology and banking. At the end of the third quarter of 2025 the Main Market had a market capitalisation of KD9.4bn ($30.8bn), with financial services responsible for 47.2% of its total value. Other major sectors were real estate, with 30.6%, industrials, with 9.2%, consumer discretionary, with 4%, and energy, with 2.6%.
The Auction Market is for companies that do not qualify for listing on the Premier Market or Main Market. There is no index for this tier. Rather, participants hold daily auctions to determine their level of liquidity. The Premier Market and Main Market combine in Boursa Kuwait’s All-Share Index. This index had a total market capitalisation of KD52.6bn ($171.3bn) at end-September 2025, with financial services responsible for 34.6% of total value, banking 26.3%, real estate with 17.6%, industrials with 9.2%, and consumer discretionary with 4.7%. Another key index is Boursa Kuwait Main Market 50 (BK Main 50) which lists the 50-most liquid companies on the Main Market, according to a calculation of average daily traded value. Since 2006 the MSCI Kuwait Index has tracked the performance of the large- and mid-market capitalisation firms. The BK Main 50 has performed well, with an annualised growth rate in gross returns of 11.8% over the past 10 years and 25.8% in the year ending September 30, 2025.
Bonds & Sukuk
In recent years, Kuwaiti bonds and sukuk have mainly been issued by non-governmental entities on international markets. In July 2025 Kuwait Finance House issued a $1bn five-year sukuk on the London Stock Exchange – a preferred location for many Kuwaiti debt instruments. In March, with the issuing of Law No. 60 of 2025, a new public debt law concerning financing and liquidity, the Kuwaiti government overcame a long-standing political obstacle to debt issuance. The new law authorises the government to issue some KD30bn ($97.7bn) in sovereign bonds and sukuk over the next 50 years. With a value of approximately KD2bn ($6.5bn) of commercial debt on the market in July 2025, there is a widespread expectation that this figure will grow rapidly once the new fixed income structure is in place (see analysis).
Performance
While news of the return of major government bond and sukuk issuances boosted Boursa Kuwait in 2025, the market continued to flourish. In 2024 the All-Share Index rose 8% on its 2023 close, from 6817 to 7363, while its total market capitalisation rose 8.2%, from KD40.3bn ($131.1bn) to KD43.6bn ($141.9bn). The market also saw a surge of trading activity during the year, with the number of trades up 63.7%, and the volume of traded shares up 73.1% in 2024. Average daily traded value grew 39.4%, from KD42.9m ($139.6m) to KD59.8m ($194.7m). Foreign turnover activity also expanded, from 12% of all turnover activity in 2023 to 15% a year later. Institutional investors continued to make up the bulk of participants in 2024, with 61% of turnover due to their activities.
At the same time, there was also a slight decline in the total number of listed companies, from 149 to 143. The Premier Market, however, saw an increase with the listing of Beyout Investment Group Holding and the upgrade of two companies from the Main Market. This helped boost the market capitalisation of the Premier Market by 11%, from KD31.8bn ($103.6bn) in 2023 to KD35.3bn ($115bn) in 2024. For the year, the Premier Market accounted for 65.9% of total traded value and 42.8% of total traded volume on Boursa Kuwait. The Main Market itself saw its index rise 24% in 2024, with the BK Main 50 also rising 24%. Market capitalisation for the Main Market ended the year at KD8.2bn ($26.9bn), with 109 companies listed. Traded value rose significantly, too – up 133.4% to KD5bn ($16.4bn).
The 2024 results earned Boursa Kuwait the 2025 Euromoney Best Exchange in the Middle East award in October 2025. Euromoney, a banking intelligence provider, noted that 2024 had seen the exchange’s highest-ever net profit, at KD18.2m ($59.2m) – a 15.1% increase. There was also a noted increase in Boursa Kuwait’s increased efficiency and a broader momentum in Kuwait’s capital market. Indeed, momentum continued into 2025, with the market continuing to show significant growth. By the start of the fourth quarter that year Boursa Kuwait AllShare Index had the strongest year-to-date (YTD) expansion of any exchange in the GCC, at 19.3%, while Dubai Financial Market recorded 14.2% YTD growth. Boursa Kuwait also showed a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17.2, superseded only within the region by the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, which had a YTD P/E ratio of 20.8.
Looking at the quarterly results, there was a surge in traded value of 45.1% between the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, while total market capitalisation grew 9.7%, from KD43.6bn ($141.9bn) to KD47.8bn ($155.6bn). The Premier Market led performance, with its index expanding from 7887 points on the first day of trading to 8675 points by the end of the quarter. The index had reached 9188 points at the end of the second quarter, after which growth continued at a slower pace, with the Premier Market index standing at 9372 points by the end of the subsequent quarter. Over the course of the year, the only significant dip in trading occurred over an external factor – a mid-year period of increased tension and conflict between Israel and Iran. The market quickly recovered from this and soon established a new high, demonstrating new confidence and resilience.
Financial Services
Much of the activity over the year has been in banking and financial services. Indeed, the nine banks listed on the exchange were responsible for 25.3% of the total trading value in September 2025, with eight showing increases during the month. At the same time, the financial services sector accounted for 32.3% of the total trading value, with 33 of the 45 companies listed in that sector increasing in value and three remaining unchanged. This was the pattern over most of the year, as expectations grew of major new projects, given the passing of the public debt law, with banks and other financial services companies likely standing to benefit from this development. Project awards had already reached a seven-year high in 2024, according to the National Bank of Kuwait, with the fourth quarter witnessing the S&P Global Kuwait Purchasing Managers’ Index – a measure of non-oil private sector performance – at its highest level ever recorded at 55.9. There is an expectation of reforms in Kuwait’s property finance segment as a mortgage law neared approval.
Boursa Kuwait is awaiting the results of a September 2025 review by FTSE Russell to see if the exchange would be upgraded to advanced emerging market status – a development that could see boosted sentiment among investors. Kuwait has likely benefitted from a global surge in emerging markets during 2025, with emerging markets stocks showing a nine-month rally worldwide over the first three quarters of the year. This confidence was evident in the second half of the year, with drilling and oilfield services company Action Energy commencing trading on the Kuwaiti market in December. With advisory by local investment firm National Investments Company and MENA asset manager EFG Hermes, this would be the Kuwait’s first new energy sector listing since 2008. At the same time, Kuwaiti convenience store Trolley is reportedly planning an initial public offering, potentially in 2025.
Outlook
The year 2024 has been marked by uncertainties on an international level, while the MENA region has continued to experience volatility. Yet, Kuwait has entered a period of significant structural reform in its economy that is now tackling bottlenecks that have long hampered investment. Boursa Kuwait stands to benefit greatly from this change, with a wide range of projects requiring financing and unfreezing of the sovereign debt market. MDP 3.2 increases the global competitiveness of the capital market. Using international best practices in regulation and organisation as its guide, the programme should see the country’s securities, bonds, sukuk and ETF infrastructure significantly improve in quality; this, in turn, is likely to lead to a significant increase in quantity.
Emerging markets are often vulnerable to rapid capital outflows and inflows. Kuwait presents a different case, given the solid fundamentals of both its economy and financial system. These are well placed to act as buffers against potential global financial volatility in 2026. A continued return to economic growth in the country is widely predicted after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries eased production cuts in oil – the country’s principal foreign exchange earner. In September 2025 the IMF predicted 2.6% annual GDP growth for the country by year-end. Kuwait’s capital markets stand on the threshold of a new era entering 2026 with a well-regulated, efficient infrastructure helping the country move forwards in long-delayed areas of development. Local and global investors can take advantage of this surge, making Boursa Kuwait central to the country’s economic and financial future.
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