KUWAIT: An awareness workshop for students of American International University, Kuwait (AIU) was held on Monday in line with the initiatives of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) aimed at bolstering financial inclusion and investment awareness within the university education sector. The workshop, a collaborative effort between AIU and CMA, featured presentations by Saud bin Ghaith, Specialist at the Market Operations Department; Nasser Al-Terkait, Senior Analyst at the Markets Operations Follow-up; and Basma Akbar, Chief Financial Analyst at the Awareness Office.

The session commenced with a comprehensive overview presented by Basma Akbar, detailing the establishment of the authority and its objectives as outlined in its governing laws. These objectives include organizing market activities, developing financial markets, diversifying investment tools, ensuring trader protection and mitigating inherent risks. Akbar emphasized the importance of public awareness regarding these activities, along with the associated benefits, risks, and responsibilities.

Subsequently, the workshop tackled the theme “Behaviors and Dealing Practices that are in Violation and are Illegal” through various approaches. It began with a detailed presentation on stock exchange principles, types of traded stocks and trading mechanisms, before focusing on Boursa Kuwait, including its indicators, mechanisms, trading hours and electronic trading platforms.

The bulk of the discussion centered on identifying violating trading behaviors and practices, encompassing their types, forms and means. Lecturers highlighted behaviors outlined in the authority’s laws and implementation regulations. Special attention was given to notable behaviors such as insider trading, fraud and manipulation during trading, along with the detrimental effects of such misleading practices on traders. The workshop emphasized the potential for wrongful investment decisions resulting from false impressions created by these activities.

Practical examples were provided to illustrate the distinctions between normal and misleading trading practices. The final segment of the workshop outlined the authority’s procedures for detecting and addressing wrongful and violating trading behaviors. This included the adoption of an automated supervision system (SMARTS) to identify suspicious trading activities and refer violators to legal authorities.