Boursa Kuwait participates in the second joint meeting of the Committee of Heads of Capital Markets Authorities (or their equivalent) in the GCC states and the Heads of Stock Exchanges

Kuwait, 28 October, 2019: Boursa Kuwait participated in the second joint meeting of the
Committee of Heads of Capital Markets Authorities (or their equivalent) in the GCC states and
the Heads of Stock Exchanges, which took place in Muscat, Oman today. Held in the periphery
of the 19th Meeting of the GCC Capital Markets Authorities Chairs Committee, the meeting
was organized by the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Secretariat General. Boursa Kuwait was
represented at the events by Chairman of the Board Mr. Hamad Meshari Al Humaidhi and
Acting CEO Mr. Mohammad Saud Al-Osaimi.
The meetings took place as part of a concentrated effort by the capital market authorities in
the Gulf to coordinate and cooperate with the goal of unifying the region’s capital markets and
exchanging information for the benefit of each country’s economy. The meetings discussed
the biggest issues facing the region today and follow-up on the decisions agreed upon in the
last edition of these meetings, which were also held in Muscat. The committee members also
discussed the various memoranda of understanding and how to better unify the capital
markets in the region.
Speaking on behalf of Boursa Kuwait, Mr. Al Humaidhi said, “The second joint meeting of the
Committee of Heads of Capital Markets Authorities (or their equivalent) in the GCC states and
the Heads of Stock Exchanges aimed to advance joint action by achieving greater coordination
and integration among the GCC countries in all economic and financial fields in line with the
aspirations of GCC nationals. We at Boursa Kuwait are keen to actively participate in such
vital regional and international meetings in our efforts to enhance the status of the exchange
and its position on the international stage, and have begun the implementation of steps and
procedures derived from the strategy. The company has strengthened its infrastructure, its
regulatory, operational and technical frameworks, resulting in many significant achievements
in a short period of time.”
The agenda for the second joint meeting of the Committee of Heads of Capital Markets
Authorities (or their equivalent) in the GCC states and the Heads of Stock Exchanges included
the Secretariat’s memorandum on the unification of the opening time in the stock markets in
the GCC, activating Passporting among the Gulf stock exchanges and the search for the best
method of its application. The dual listing of the financial markets was also discussed during
the meeting, as well as many issues that come up during the proceedings.
Over the last two years, Boursa Kuwait has worked valiantly to improve the local capital market
and develop a liquid, reliable and sound exchange that provides issuers with efficient access
to capital and investors with diverse return opportunities. The country has been upgraded to
Emerging Market status by FTSE Russell in September 2017, the S&P Dow Jones Emerging
Markets index has included Kuwait as of December 2018, and Kuwait has received the
conditional approval to be included in the MSCI Emerging Markets index in June 2019. These
efforts will further strengthen Boursa Kuwait’s position both regionally and internationally. The
recent achievements further demonstrate that Kuwait is developing into a safe haven in the
region with imminent further upgrades.