Kuwait Stock Exchange set to become fully privatized

Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) will be fully operated by Boursa Kuwait Co., on Sept. 30, becoming the first major state-owned entity to be privatized in the Gulf state.

CEO of Kuwait Bourse Co. Khaled Al-Khaled told reporters on Tuesday that a limit of 20 percent for the maximum daily rise or fall of individual stocks will be introduced by November.

The bourse is also working with the regulator to start a secondary market for small and medium-sized enterprises sometime next year.

Under a new plan, the new company will be owned by the KSE until its initial public offering, where 50 percent will be offered to citizens, and 6 percent is government owned, while 44 percent is allocated to global investors. KSE’s privatization comes as part of CMA’s plans to boost the bourse’s liquidity and transparency and revamp the country’s economy.

Boursa Kuwait’s board of directors has replaced KSE’s committee, and will eventually prepare for the IPO.