Kuwaiti bourse launches emerging companies market

Kuwait’s stock exchange has launched a market for emerging companies following an increase in demand to join the busy bourse.

The emerging companies market is intended to widen participation by local companies in the bourse and attract their investment, a statement from the exchange said.

“Boursa Kuwait announces its readiness for the emerging companies market,” the statement said, adding that it began receiving applications on Sunday.

The move means Kuwait’s exchange is now divided into four sections, with the emerging companies market complementing the main market, the primary bourse and the auction market, according to the statement.

Boursa Kuwait stipulated in July that emerging companies wishing to join the new market must have minimum capital of KD750,000 ($2.4 million) and said this capital would be evaluated by an authorised auditor.

“Companies listed on the primary market, the main market, or the auction market are not permitted to switch to the emerging companies market,” the bourse said.

New companies listed on the emerging market could qualify to list on the primary market after fulfilling the conditions stipulated by the bourse authority, it added.

Kuwait’s bourse is one of the largest and busiest stock markets in the Middle East, with 139 companies listed at the end of November, bourse data showed.

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Their market capitalisation stood at around KD55 billion at the end of October, nearly $33 billion higher than a year earlier.

Banks form the dominant sector in the bourse, with their capitalisation standing at around KD33 billion, nearly 60 percent of the market’s total.

The Kuwaiti bourse’s All Share Index has risen 22.5 percent this year to December 16. The biggest movers are energy and real estate, up 50 percent and 52 percent respectively.