Kuwait will allow foreign investors to own and trade shares in the Arabian Gulf country's banks ahead of index-compiler MSCI's anticipated decision next year to upgrade Kuwait to emerging-market status.
The decree allows foreign investors to own up to five per cent of a Kuwaiti bank's capital directly or indirectly, state-owned Kuna news agency reported on Saturday citing the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Any levels exceeding that limit will require the Central Bank of Kuwait's approval.
"The latest move comes in accordance with Decree 694/2018, which notes that the non-Kuwaiti investor shall be allowed to own and trade in Kuwaiti banks' shares," Kuna reported.
Kuwaiti banks are expected to post higher annual earnings in 2019 driven by more lending as the government presses ahead with project spending and consumer confidence improves, according to Egyptian investment bank EFG-Hermes. Average earnings at Kuwaiti banks are forecast to rise 15 per cent driven by a 6.4 per cent year-on-year increase in loans in 2019, it said in a report last week. Kuwait's banking sector delivered the strongest earnings growth among its Gulf peers, posting a 19 per cent increase in the first nine months of the year.
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Read more:
Kuwait Finance House third quarter net profit rises 31.4%, beating estimates
Kuwait joins FTSE Russell, affirming ‘safe haven’ for foreign inflows
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The foreign ownership decree comes as the country overhauls its capital markets to attract more foreign inflows. Boursa Kuwait, which is preparing for its own initial public offering in the first quarter of next year, introduced several measures to revamp the capital markets since it took control of the Kuwait Stock Exchange in early 2016. It relaxed listing rules, delisted companies deemed unsuitable for public investment and segmented the market with different disclosure requirements.
The decree comes follows the decision to add Kuwait to the S&P Dow Jones Indices' Global Benchmark Indices with an emerging market classification by next year. US index provider MSCI will decide in June whether to upgrade Kuwait to the widely tracked emerging-market benchmark. The inclusion would result in $2 billion (Dh7.3bn) of passive inflows, according to analysts at Arqaam Capital and Franklin Templeton.
Kuwait’s inclusion in the FTSE Russell Emerging Markets Index in September is expected to attract $1bn of passive inflows to its capital markets, according to Franklin Templeton. Passive investors track indexes and do not pick stocks.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Company%20profile
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
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Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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25%20Days%20to%20Aden
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
President and chief executive, Mastercard
Shantanu Narayen
Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe
Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
SOUTH%20KOREA%20SQUAD
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Bridgerton%20season%20three%20-%20part%20one
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WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
