Capital Markets Authority...Stone On Path Of Turning Kuwait Into Regional Hub

Date

7/12/2023 5:08:48 AM

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Report by KUNA as part of FANA's economic affairs

By Mohammad Kamal

KUWAIT, July 12 (KUNA) -- Kuwait has been taking steady steps to attain its strategic objective of turning into a regional financial and commercial hub.

The Gulf state has set up supervisory and regulatory authorities to back up a domestic market capable of attracting investments locally and from abroad.
Capital Markets Authority's establishment (2010) was on the basis that the financial sector was one of the key fundamentals of the national economy, that it would play a vital role in investing funds, enriching savings, offering credit tools, diversifying income resources and creating jobs for nationals.
The CMA, since its establishment according to Law 7/2020, adopted by the National Assembly in February 2020, has taken charge of organizing and overseeing securities, ensuring transparency, justice and competence, obliging companies listed in Boursa Kuwait to adhere to governance and protecting traders from unjust and irregular practices.
CMA's five-member board of commissioners is largely credited for promoting Kuwait to the emerging market status, as declared by the FTSE Russel index in September 2017, S&O in December 2018 and MSCI in June 2019.
The promotion has contributed to luring foreign traders including those with huge assets and some USD five billion into the local stock market, particularly between 2018 and 2020. It also impacted positively the daily trade volume that reached, 2020, some KD 62 million (USD 187.8 million), compared to KD 18 million (USD 54.5 million) in 2018.
Currently, the CMA is a member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and seeks expertise and consultation from various international agencies and institutions, namely the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the European Commission, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), Internal Audit and the World Bank (WB).
Dr. Ahmad Al-Melhem, CMA Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said in an interview with KUNA that the authority would present various financial services, in the foreseeable future, namely a digital platform for stock and sukukus' listing and trading, funds, financial derivatives and re-purchase transactions.
In addition to the above-mentioned services, the CMA has already set up profiting realty funds, and launched margin trading, short selling, lending and borrowing.
Al-Melhem adds that the authority has recently launched its third strategy (2023-2024) and (2026-2027) to stay abreast of forecast requirements, local and international trends.
Moreover, the authority that has been upgrading its strategies since 2020 is seeking to draw up a national inclusive financial strategy. (end) mk.rk

MENAFN12072023000071011013ID1106590086

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.