15/04/2019
The value of Saudi investments in the Kuwaiti bourse amounted to about 1.8 billion riyals by the end of the first quarter of this year, 5 per cent of the total market.
The Kuwait Clearing Company said to AlEqtisadiah that more than 50 per cent of Saudi investments in the Kuwaiti market in banks and financial services worth more than one billion riyals.
Kuwait Finance House acquired 26% of total Saudi investments in the Kuwait market at a value of SR 470 million, while the National Bank of Kuwait received 20% of the value of 354 million riyals.
The Kuwait Clearing Company said, "The improvement in the Kuwaiti market in attracting foreign investments is due to the promotion of FTSE Russell indices for emerging markets, as it contributed significantly to improving its performance and the rise in net foreign inflows significantly during 2018, which is the highest annual level since 2008."
It stressed that the promotion of the stock market to the ranks of emerging markets will be a motive to increase the initial proposals and increased focus on improving the returns of shareholders, in addition to introducing new tools to the market such as derivatives and hedging instruments.
It noted that the Company was looking forward to upgrading the Kuwaiti market on the MSCI Emerging Markets Index MSCI, especially after positive impressions from Morgan Stanley emerging markets, where the Kuwaiti market was able to meet all the required standards, which led to the promotion of the stock market in two global indices.
The Company added, "Global institutions that evaluate the market always need to meet the requirements according to several pivotal criteria that contribute to the acceptance of foreign investor to enter the market, as many were related to clearing and settlement mechanisms and the central depository. Therefore, when the Kuwait Clearing Company was asked to apply these standards, we have worked with the Stock Exchange and the Authority to develop implementation plans for this."
