Kuwait Stock Exchange privatization concluded

KUWAIT — Kuwait’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA), the regulatory body for capital markets and securities activities, on Monday announced that the public offering to Kuwaiti citizens for its 50% stake in Boursa Kuwait Securities Company (BKSC) has successfully concluded on schedule at 1pm Sunday with more than 8.5 times oversubscription.

CMA’s Chairman of the Board of Commissioners and Managing Director Dr. Ahmad A. Al-Melhem said “as of 1 pm yesterday, 94% of Boursa Kuwait Securities Company is owned by private investors, while the remaining 6% is owned by the State-run pension fund, the Public Institute for Social Security. As a result of the successful closure of the offering, Boursa Kuwait has become the only stock exchange operator in the Middle East that is not owned by the State. This marks as a landmark transaction in the history of Kuwait’s capital markets, and an important step towards achieving the ambitious national development goals set out in Kuwait’s Vision 2035 with an aim to strengthen the country’s position as a regional financial center, and give the private sector a stronger role and a greater opportunity to develop the national economy.”

The public offering of 50% of BKSC, led and managed by KAMCO Investment Company, is the second and final phase of the privatization process of Boursa Kuwait which followed the sale of 44% of the company to strategic investors in February 2019. — SG