KUWAIT: Boursa Kuwait participated in the second joint meeting of the Committee of Heads of Capital Markets Authorities (or their equivalent) in the GCC states and the Heads of Stock Exchanges, which took place in Muscat, Oman yesterday. Held in the periphery of the 19th Meeting of the GCC Capital Markets Authorities Chairs Committee, the meeting was organized by the Gulf Cooperation Council's Secretariat General. Boursa Kuwait was represented at the events by Chairman of the Board Hamad Meshari Al-Humaidhi and Acting CEO Mohammad Saud Al-Osaimi.
The meetings took place as part of a concentrated effort by the capital market authorities in the Gulf to coordinate and cooperate with the goal of unifying the region's capital markets and exchanging information for the benefit of each country's economy. The meetings discussed the biggest issues facing the region today and follow-up on the decisions agreed upon in the last edition of these meetings, which were also held in Muscat. The committee members also discussed the various memoranda of understanding and how to better unify the capital markets in the region.

Speaking on behalf of Boursa Kuwait, Al-Humaidhi said, "The second joint meeting of the Committee of Heads of Capital Markets Authorities (or their equivalent) in the GCC states and the Heads of Stock Exchanges aimed to advance joint action by achieving greater coordination and integration among the GCC countries in all economic and financial fields in line with the aspirations of GCC nationals. We at Boursa Kuwait are keen to actively participate in such vital regional and international meetings in our efforts to enhance the status of the exchange and its position on the international stage, and have begun the implementation of steps and procedures derived from the strategy. The company has strengthened its infrastructure, its regulatory, operational and technical frameworks, resulting in many significant achievements in a short period of time."

The agenda for the second joint meeting of the Committee of Heads of Capital Markets Authorities (or their equivalent) in the GCC states and the Heads of Stock Exchanges included the Secretariat's memorandum on the unification of the opening time in the stock markets in the GCC, activating Passporting among the Gulf stock exchanges and the search for the best method of its application. The dual listing of the financial markets was also discussed during the meeting, as well as many issues that come up during the proceedings.

Over the last two years, Boursa Kuwait has worked valiantly to improve the local capital market and develop a liquid, reliable and sound exchange that provides issuers with efficient access to capital and investors with diverse return opportunities. The country has been upgraded to Emerging Market status by FTSE Russell in September 2017, the S&P Dow Jones Emerging Markets index has included Kuwait as of December 2018, and Kuwait has received the conditional approval to be included in the MSCI Emerging Markets index in June 2019. These efforts will further strengthen Boursa Kuwait's position both regionally and internationally. The recent achievements further demonstrate that Kuwait is developing into a safe haven in the region with imminent further upgrades.