ShareKUWAIT: The National Investments Company (NIC) held its ordinary general assembly on Monday (1/5/2023) at its headquarters in Al-Khaleejia Complex, with an attendance rate of 73.65 percent. The assembly was authorized by the shareholders in person and electronically. The Chairman of the Board Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi kicked off the meeting by welcoming all shareholders, thanking them for their continuous support and precious trust, which is always the primary motivator for the company and a key reason for its stability.
Attendees have approved the agenda suggested by the Board of Directors. In his speech, Al-Kharafi said that by the end of last year, 2022, National Investments Company achieved profits of KD 8.7 million; therefore, the board has recommended distributing a 28 percent cash dividend of the capital at 28 fils per share (after subtracting the treasury shares) for the financial year ended 31 December, 2022, to shareholders registered in the Company’s records per the applicable maturity dates and rules.
Al-Kharafi also thanked shareholders for their trust, which positively impacted the company’s systematic strategy at the level of the investment sector, achieving encouraging indicators at all levels despite local and global challenges that affected the performance of companies, banks, and business sectors in general.
“The Board of Directors has always supported the company’s executive management and their ongoing efforts characterized by high professionalism, and do appreciate all efforts paid to achieve the best results and successes, as well as the commitment to following the company’s strategy while enhancing the confidence of its customers and shareholders, which would not have been achieved without the tireless and sincere efforts of the management and all employees of the company,” highlighted Al-Kharafi.
Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi and Fahad Abdulrahman Al-MukhaizimPositive indicators
Al-Kharafi also confirmed that 2022 was a positive year for NIC, as the company has gone on with its sustainability approach in achieving annual profits and remarkable growth in all fundamental financial indicators, noting that it achieved favorable rates in terms of profitability indicators and return on both average assets and average shareholders’ equity, improving asset quality indicators and succeeding in maintaining reasonable rates of cost and revenue at the same time, despite economic challenges and unprecedented crises. NIC’s total assets amounted to KD 271 million by the end of 2022. Total assets managed by the National Investments Company have increased to approximately KD 1.15 billion, compared to KD 1.088 billion in the same period in 2021. The total shareholders’ equity of the parent company reached KD 199 million, and other comprehensive revenues amounted to KD 9.4 million.
General performance
of Boursa Kuwait
Al-Kharafi also explained that 2022 witnessed several economic and political events and variables, whose effects were reflected in the performance of Boursa Kuwait’s indices. Looking at the performance of the stock exchange during the first quarter of 2022, we find that it was exceptionally positive, as the general market index has recorded the highest quarterly gains ever, amounting to about 15.7 percent. The revenues of the Premier Market index for the same quarter amounted to about 18.6 percent. These gains were supported by many positive catalysts and data, most notably the rise in global oil prices and companies’ positive annual financial results. The market performance during the second and third quarters was significantly negative. The three stock market indices suffered sharp losses following intense selling pressure that affected most of the stock exchange’s shares in general and the leading stocks, which continued until the late third quarter and was reflected in the performance of the indices.
During the last quarter of 2022, the stock market indices have witnessed a slight relative improvement, despite the volatile trading that accompanied that period, after declining for two consecutive quarters, as the transactions of the period saw the return of selective buying that affected a broad segment of leading stocks, as well as medium and small, which reflected positively on the performance of the indices and made them recover relatively from losses.
A year of achievements
The National Investments Company has received awards from renowned global and regional bodies and financial institutions as a tribute and testimony of appreciation from these platforms for the excellence of the company’s performance. Awards included the Most Innovative Real Estate Development Company in Kuwait from International Finance, Al-Wataniya Fund received Best Investment Product and Enterprise Risk Management Excellence Award from Global Banking & Finance, and Best Investment Banking Company from World Finance.
A year of excellence
Fahad Abdulrahman Al-Mukhaizim, Board Member and CEO of National Investments Company, said that the positive results achieved by the company during the fiscal year that ended December 31, 2022, came as an affirmation of its commitment to enhancing shareholder value.
This was reflected in improving the efficiency and solidity of its financial position, in addition to implementing its successful strategy towards achieving apparent growth in the company’s profitability, which positively affected all economic indicators and succeeded in attracting a wide range of investors in various funds and investment portfolios, as the company achieved a growth of more than 37 percent in the number of new portfolio clients from individuals and local and international companies during the year and other various investment opportunities during the year 2022.
He stressed the outstanding performance of the company’s investment funds during 2022, another testimony of the executive management adopting effective strategies and being capable of applying accurate and tight work methods and practices while achieving distinguished financial returns and confirming NIC’s leading position. Al-Wataniya Fund has distributed attractive cash dividends to unit holders of 24 fils per unit for the results of the second half of 2022. Al-Mukhaizim pointed to increased market share achieved by providing various services such as acquisitions, IPOs, and mergers supervised by the investment banking team during 2022, with a value of approximately $2 billion.
During the year 2022, the company’s consulting team was the lead coordinator, listing advisor, joint placement manager, and subscription agent in several deals, such as the listing of Ali Alghanim Sons Automotive, which exceeded covering more than 11 times the offering value, to be the fastest listing process in Boursa Kuwait’s Premier market. Also, the subscription to increase the capital of National Consumer Holding Company and Alrai Media Group, and an investment advisor for the merger of Boubyan Petrochemical Company, Educational Holding Group, Safat Investment Company, and Capcorp Investment.
Al-Mukhaizim also reviewed the performance of the company’s Alternative Investment Department, where it made several direct investments in well-positioned companies within various sectors, such as the financial technology sector and real estate investment sector in the regions of Europe and America. In addition, the investment in Silver Lake VII Fund and the investment in the HPS Investment Partners Trust Fund, through which the management could continue diversifying investment portfolios and access a range of outstanding credit opportunities in global markets.
The real estate investment sector also witnessed a significant improvement, as occupancy rates in the company’s properties and properties managed by it were raised to unprecedented rates of 100 percent in some properties, compared to its situation during the pandemic period in 2020 and 2021.
Al-Mukhaizim added that digital transformation remains a crucial element of NIC’s strategy. The company is always keen to implement new smart solutions to achieve a qualitative leap in the innovative investment services and products provided to its clients in a manner that enhances the principle of sustainability and contributes to the development of the investment sector regionally and, thus, the growth of the Kuwaiti economy. To this end, the company has updated the digital IPO management service and focused on developing and updating the service with the Civil Information Authority, banks, and authorized clearing agencies. The electronic trading program NICTRADE has been updated to include advanced options for clients.
The company has also introduced the electronic real estate system to enable tenants to follow up on all matters related to their units, such as maintenance requests and electronic payment, allowing real estate owners to follow up on their assets and financial flows. The size of real estate portfolios has been increased by some additional properties managed by the sector, accompanied by an increase in revenues of 4.5 percent.
Prudent governance
National Investments Company 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 applied by prestigious financial institutions are used, 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.
Acknowledgment
In conclusion, Al-Kharafi expressed his sincere gratitude to board members, executive management, and the team for their ongoing efforts to achieve this performance and growth aligned with the strategic plan. I would also like to thank the Capital Markets Authority, Boursa Kuwait, Central Bank of Kuwait, and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry employees for their tremendous efforts to achieve the targeted development. We pray for blessings, safety, and prosperity for our beloved Kuwait.
