KUWAIT: Kuwait'sCapital Market Authority (CMA) has requested citizens to update their personaldetails ahead of the local stock market's initial public offering (IPO), whichallows nationals to own 50 percent of shares. The names of Kuwaiti citizensregistered with the Public Authority For Civil Information will be released onSeptember 8th, while the stock market's shares will be offered on an equalbasis to all nationals, the capital market regulator said in a statementyesterday.
The privatizationof Kuwait's stock exchange is an integral step towards national development,helping transform the country into a financial hub, added the statement. Kuwaithas taken measures in recent years to privatize its stock exchange, which wasofficially established in 1983 and is one of the oldest markets in the MiddleEast. As per a law passed in 2010, the CMA is supposed to offer 50 percent ofthe shares to Kuwaiti citizens and another 50 percent to ten companies alreadylisted on the stock exchange. - KUNA