ShareKUWAIT: The National Investments Company held its AGM on Thursday, 2/5/2024, at its headquarters in Al-Khaleejia Complex. 77.230 percent of the shareholders attended in person and electronically.
During the AGM, NIC Chairman Khaled Waleed Al-Falah highlighted the successes and achievements generated, backed by a solid strategic plan, ongoing support of the Board of Directors, the passion and dedication of employees, while maintaining sustainable growth in a way that reflects the strength of the company’s financial position and the flexibility of its business model.
Following the Board of Directors’ approval of the proposed agenda at the AGM, Al-Falah announced that NIC achieved KD 4.1 million in profits in 2023. As a result, the Board recommended the distribution of cash dividends of 15 percent of the capital, ie, 15 fils per share (after deducting treasury shares), for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023. These dividends, a testament to our commitment to shareholder value, will be distributed according to the applicable record dates and rules.
Al-Falah thanked all shareholders for their confidence in the board, which formed real basis for the company’s strategy. NIC achieved positive indicators at all levels despite the local and global challenges that impacted the performance of the local, regional, and international financial markets.
Positive Indicators
Al-Falah stated that 2023 was a constructive year for NIC, as the company continued to adopt a sustainable approach, which helped in achieving annual profits, noting that favorable rates were achieved concerning profitability indicators and return on both average assets and average shareholders’ equity, improving asset quality indicators and success in maintaining reasonable cost and revenue ratios at the same time, which reflected the flexibility of our strategies and demonstrated a steady pace towards providing better customer service and maximizing shareholder rights.
He also highlighted the most prominent financial indicators of the National Investments Company during the past year, saying that the company’s total assets reached KD 249.3 million by the end of 2023. The total shareholders’ equity of the parent company reached KD 173.3 million, and revenues reached KD 13.8 million.
Prestigious award
Achievements generated in 2023 resulted in NIC receiving ‘Best Wealth Management Company in Kuwait 2023’ for the Best for Ultra category (High Net Worth Individuals in Kuwait) by Euromoney International during the Private Banking Awards in London. The company received one of the most critical regional awards in the financial sector, a prestigious and pioneering achievement that enhanced the company’s position, product quality, and leadership in Kuwait.
A year full of achievements
Fahad Al-Mukhaizim, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of NIC said that the financial results achieved by the company in 2023 confirm its commitment to innovation, sustainability, and operational excellence, which is reflected in enhancing the efficiency and solidity of its financial position, improving and maintaining the assets managed by attracting investments in multiple investment portfolios and the company’s diversified investment opportunities with distinctive value and stimulating figures during the year 2023 through its new customers.
The company achieved additional demand for investment in funds managed by the company, by attracting investors in various portfolios and offering them an additional percentage of more than twenty-two percent on the number of investment portfolios for new individuals, local companies, and foreign investors. In addition, we provided several distinguished services to our clients in various planning areas to protect global real estate assets.
Al-Mukhaizim stressed that the company’s investment funds achieved positive returns during 2023 thanks to the dynamic strategic approach. NIC achieved the optimal long-term returns for clients by reducing the risks involved in the stock markets and the success of the financial instruments team during the same year of signing a market maker service agreement with three companies listed on Boursa Kuwait, including companies that NIC maintained their survival within the Premier Market level, increasing the number of companies that our company offers it the role of the Market Maker on its shares to twelve. This makes the National Investments Company one of the largest investment companies that provide Market Maker services in Boursa, Kuwait.
“The company’s success was based on its wise strategy in attracting investments and advisory services,” said Al-Mukhaizim, who explained that it started 2023 with a wide set of investment operations that included many mergers, acquisitions, and capital increases for several companies.
NIC also succeeded in managing many private placements and qualitative advisory services on Boursa Kuwait. The value of deals until the end of 2023 amounted to approximately exceeding half a billion USD, which was represented in a pioneering sale of the largest and most successful deals in the education sector in Kuwait, in addition to the company’s implementation of the second partial purchase in Kuwait on behalf of one of our clients, and also the completion of the acquisition of a major foods company through a cash capital increase.
The company also succeeded in subscribing to the capital increase of a major media company and obtaining a non-binding letter of intent from a strategic investor for one of our clients within the oil and gas sector, deals that reinforce our role as trusted financial consultants in Kuwait.
Praising the success of the Alternative Investment Management team in adopting strategic investments within the real estate sector, Al-Mukhaizim said: “This was achieved through partnerships with several local and foreign real estate professionals while investing in the development and leasing of various projects, including a residential real estate project in the United States of America, the renovation, leasing and sale of three Class I warehouses in France, in addition to renting real estate to one of the pioneers of the food sector in Europe.
The team also worked with subsidiaries and associates to improve financial performance and create added value for these companies through asset restructuring and providing exit deals. In addition, the National Investments Company also had a dominant market share for advisory and investment services, making it a pioneer and distinguished company in this field. This strategy has increased liquidity for these companies, resulting in the distribution of financial surpluses to shareholders. This approach is expected to continue in the coming years.
Al-Mukhaizim also praised the regulatory authorities supervising investment operations and deals, especially the Capital Markets Authority and the Competition Protection Agency, for their role in completing smooth and transparent transactions and their enthusiasm to ensure fair competition among companies operating in the local market.
The real estate investment sector has also witnessed a significant advancement, as occupancy rates in properties owned or managed by the company have been raised by 100 percent in some properties. The company has pursued foreign real estate investments in several countries in the Middle East while redirecting them to achieve good returns, whether internal or that can be exited with rewarding profits.
The National Investments Company seeks to move forward to technological excellence, modernize the IT infrastructure, and enhance cybersecurity measures to protect the company’s data and customers, which raised the level of preventive security of the system and compliance with international standards and has become a solid and reliable base for all parties involved.
The company is always committed to providing innovative investment products that comply with the objectives of our customers’ various financial reports during the scheduled period, and we are launching innovative investment products that meet the market’s needs and customers’ aspirations. The establishment of the “NFP” platform, a digital platform that connects sectors digitally to implement customer requests faster and more accurately, and the development of the electronic real estate system contributed to facilitating collection services and improving the customer experience in all their matters.
Wise governance system
On the other hand, Al-Mukhaizim stated that NIC is committed to modernizing the governance system in line with the requirements of the Capital Markets Authority and the governance procedures related to the investment sector, in addition to managing risks effectively and efficiently by adopting mechanisms through which the international standards on risk management are applied by prestigious financial institutions, which is a vital part of the requirements of corporate governance and prudent management of the company’s assets and the assets of its clients.
Sustainability efforts
Corporate Social Responsibility forms an essential part of NIC’s strategy; the company is committed to this role and is working to raise awareness of its importance as part of its annual program. Given the local and global interest in sustainability and social, environmental, and corporate governance (ESG), NIC has supported national sustainability as it became a critical driver to enhance opportunities to consolidate a sustainable approach by adopting a proactive responsibility in several areas; also NIC is planning to issue a dedicated sustainability report during this year.
Training initiatives and activities
At the AGM, the National Investments Company highlighted its role in corporate social responsibility, which includes supporting, sponsoring, and implementing initiatives, activities, and events on various grounds. As a strategic supporter, NIC has contributed to Creative Confidence’s “Shift” program, designed specifically for newly graduated Kuwaiti women, by qualifying them to enter the investment labor market in the local markets and the region.
Corporate social responsibility
In support of sports activities aimed at spreading health and sports culture among the community and raising and developing the name of Kuwaiti sports, NIC participated as a platinum sponsor of the Open Padel Championship. To contribute to humanitarian, social, and charitable work, NIC has provided Eid Al-Fitr clothing for families in need in cooperation with the Kuwait Food and Relief Bank. The company also supported many educational and academic activities and events at the local level. NIC has supported the Marketing Management Club at Kuwait University by providing specialized investment workshops, developing its expertise in investment and financial work, and supporting its academic and professional goals.
Words of appreciation
Toward the end of the meeting, Khaled Al-Falah expressed his appreciation to The Board of Directors, the executive management team, and all NIC employees for their endless efforts to maintain a high level of performance for the company and achieve positive results that align with its strategy.
Al-Falah also expressed his gratitude to the Capital Markets Authority, Boursa Kuwait, the Central Bank of Kuwait, and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for their ongoing support and efforts in advancing development. “May God bless our beloved Kuwait and keep it safe,” he concluded.
