Bourse company to offer model for privatisation in Kuwait

Convening the Kuwait Bourse Company Constituent General Assembly on Sunday goes on line with the orientation of the Kuwait Capital Market Authority (CMA) to transfer the possession of the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) to the private sector, said chairman of the newly-established company Khaled Abdelrazzaq Al-Khaled.
The board of directors of the Bourse Company will seek to offer a successful model for privatization in the Kuwaiti market, Al-Khaled told reporters on the sidelines of the company's Constituent General Assembly today.
This will be achieved through completion of the basic stages that enable the company to deal with components of the market, for the sake of producing a developed model that serves mechanisms of trading, monitoring and transparency, in addition to the creation of a favourable environment for new companies to realise more profits, he explained.
According to Al-Khaled, the plan of action of the Kuwait Bourse Company will be divided into three domains that cover setting the company's systems and bylaws as well as mechanism for dealing with the affiliate bodies besides restructuring the administrative sectors and jobs. The plan also includes privatising the company, whose capital has been identified at KD 60 million.
Privatisation is divided into two phases, the first of which will see offering 50 percent of the overall capital at an auction for the listed companies. In the second phase, the other 50 per cent will be sold to the Kuwaiti citizens in a public offer.
Restructuring the company's capital in this way is likely to create a unique variation on the Kuwaiti market, as single side will enjoy a majority share, consequently the board of directors will be free of any control, he said. This is of course for the good of professionalism of the company, and will also have positive impact on the small investors.
Launching the Kuwait Bourse Company will in no way conflict with work at the KSE, since its current board of directors has a definite mission, namely identifying the company's systems and bylaws as well as restructuring departments and jobs, in addition to achieving the KSE privatisation, while the Stock Exchange administration will carry on with usual work, till it is of no need.
The "Kuwait Bourse Company" was proclaimed earlier today after securing approval over all procedures toward establishment, said chairman of the new entity's constituent committee Abdullah Al-Qabandi.
Addressing the Constituent General Assembly, in full quorum, Al-Qabandi noted that the company's bylaws were adopted after gaining the approval of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Kuwait Capital Markets Authority and notarization with the Ministry of Justice, and this was reported in the official gazette.
The constituent committee has opened an account with a Kuwait bank, in which the authority subsequently deposited 25 percent of the capital, KD 60 million.
An eight-member board had also been selected, he said. The members appointed by the authority were Khaled Abdelrazzaq Al-Khaled, Sabah Abdullah Al-Othman, Mohammad Ahmad Al-Saqqaf, Esam Abdelmehsin Al-Marzouq, and Mousa Ahmad Al-Kanderi. The other three members, independents, were Mohammad Saud Al-Osaimi, Husam Abdelrahman Al-Bassam and Saud Faisal Al-Mutawwa'.
The company is formed in line with law 7/2010, which states that all assets of Kuwait Stock Exchange come into possession of the Kuwait Capital Markets Authority. The next move is an auction on 50 percent of capital, with bidding allowed for companies which were listed with Kuwait Stock Exchange. There would also be a public subscription for 50 percent of company stocks for Kuwaiti nationals.