KUWAIT: The Middle East Investor Relations Association (MEIRA) and its Kuwait Chapter successfully held an online seminar to raise awareness of the key implications for Kuwaiti listed companies in light of the recent inclusion of the Kuwait capital market in the MSCI Emerging Markets Indices.

The session, which was organized in collaboration with Boursa Kuwait and the Union of Investment Companies, was attended by around 100 representatives from local issuers and investment firms. Guest speakers, Noura Al-Abdulkareem, Boursa Kuwait's Head of Markets Sector, and Oliver Schutzmann, CEO at Iridium Advisors, jointly explained what this milestone means for the Investor Relations (IR) professionals in Kuwait and shed light on how other regional markets responded to the upgrade, including key lessons learned during the journey.

During the session, Noura Al-Abdulkareem stated, "The recent inclusion of seven listed companies in the MSCI Emerging Markets Indices on 30 November resulted in unprecedented inflows into the Kuwaiti capital market and was a key contributor to the historic total of 961.6 million Kuwaiti Dinars traded that day. Throughout the pandemic, Boursa Kuwait has been working diligently with its partners in the capital market apparatus and across the investment community to ensure the success of this day, which is the fruit of many years of market enhancements and developments."

She added, "Strategic partnerships, like the one we've established with MEIRA and its Kuwait chapter in order to raise the standards of investor relations practices for listed companies as well as those who are looking to list, will be valuable on our journey to further enhance the Kuwaiti capital market and the company." Mohammad Abdal, MEIRA Kuwait Chapter Head and Board Member and Zain Group Chief Communications Officer added, "the recent MSCI upgrade represents a great opportunity not only for the issuers, but for the overall Kuwaiti and regional market.

In MEIRA, we work very closely with the exchanges and regulators to promote the IR function and greater transparency in the financial markets. This milestone proves how important it is to continue working towards a more efficient market ecosystem and demonstrates how much potential the Kuwaiti market has as an investment destination".

The MEIRA Kuwait Chapter has recently also celebrated the appointment of Dalal Al-Dousari, Investor Relations Deputy General Manager at Gulf Bank, as a new MEIRA Board Member. With two Kuwaiti representatives on the MEIRA Board, the Chapter will be in a stronger position to continue delivering even more value and initiatives in 2021.