Kuwait - Mubasher: The Emerging Companies Market (ECM) is set to officially launch and start accepting listing applications as of Sunday, 14 December, according to a press release.
This move followed the successful completion of all technical and operational requirements in accordance with the capital market stakeholders and participants.
The ECM was founded as a result of a joint effort led by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), which approved the regulatory framework for the market and updated the listing rules to reinforce corporate commitment to disclosure and governance requirements.
Such measures aim to improve transparency and liquidity, while enabling small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)to access more flexible funding channels. This is in addition to boosting investor confidence through a balanced regulatory environment aligned with international best practices.
Moreover, Boursa Kuwait implemented a series of technical upgrades and operational tests, covering automated systems and trading platforms, in collaboration with market participants, including brokerage firms and service providers.
The ECM backs the growth of national companies and offers investors new opportunities within a modern regulatory and operational framework, while enhancing the competitiveness of Kuwait’s capital market and contributing to the country’s economic development goals.
Boursa Kuwait’s Head of Markets, Noura Al Abdulkareem, commented: “The operational readiness of the Emerging Companies Market marks a pivotal milestone in Boursa Kuwait’s strategy to broaden its base of issuers and investors, while advancing market infrastructure in alignment with international standards.”
“This achievement reflects effective institutional collaboration, with the Capital Markets Authority providing regulatory leadership and the legislative framework, and Boursa Kuwait ensuring full technical and operational preparedness,” she added.
The official noted: “Together, these efforts aim to empower national companies to grow and contribute to a robust and sustainable private sector that supports the national economy.”
Listing on the Emerging Companies Market is a key opportunity for SMEs, as it offers access to diverse sources of funding at a lower cost compared to traditional financing.
It also enables companies to attain higher valuations due to greater business clarity, stronger corporate governance and improved share tradability within a regulated market that reflects their true value through fair pricing mechanisms.
The ECM features flexible listing requirements tailored to the nature of SMEs, including:
A minimum fair value of capital of KD 750,000, determined by a CMA-licensed asset value or investment advisor.
A minimum free float of 20% of the company’s capital.
A minimum of 20 shareholders, each holding shares worth no less than KD 5,000.
The company must continue conducting its core business activities as defined in its Articles of Association, with most of its revenue generated from those activities.
Submission of audited financial statements for the two full fiscal years preceding the listing application date.
Meanwhile, the companies interested in listing on the ECM can visit Boursa Kuwait’s official website to complete the “Listing Readiness Assessment” form.
In line with its market development plans, Boursa Kuwait continues to promote initiatives that serve the interests of investors, issuers, and all market participants, in collaboration with its partners in the capital market apparatus.
The company prepared the technical infrastructure to ensure market readiness for the listing and trading of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and fixed-income instruments, such as sukuk and bonds, as part of the second phase of Stage Three of the Market Development Program (MD 3.2), launched in July.
The capital market apparatus continues technical testing of clearing and settlement systems to enable the trading of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), bonds and sukuk in US dollars. Relevant stakeholders are working together to integrate all supporting systems for trading, settlement and currency conversion.
These efforts, carried out in cooperation with the broader capital market apparatus, culminated in the reclassification of the Kuwaiti market to Emerging Market status by the world’s leading index providers.
