KUWAIT: Investors kept away from the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) and moved to real estate sector due to lower oil prices, Baitak Capital CEO Abdulaziz Al-Marzouqi said. Speaking at a forum organized by Baitak Capital yesterday, Al-Marzouqi said that some investors were attracted by Gulf markets as they provide more investment opportunities to foreign investors. He noted that the Kuwaiti market includes 191 companies compared to 170 ones in Saudi Arabia, but with a value of five times higher than those in Kuwait. He said that the Kuwaiti market needs positive steps for attracting investors through the support of the public and private sectors and providing reliable information about the listed companies.
On his part, Fuad Akbar, head of projects of Qurain Petrochemical Industries Co., expected that his company will post better dividends, noting it witnessed huge expansions since its foundation. The company’s activities cover all petrochemical industries in collaboration with a number of companies, he added. Meanwhile, Mashaer Holding Company CEO Jassem Al- Awadhi said the value of the company’s portfolios hit about KD 40 million distributed in three countries: Kuwait, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The value of investment in Kuwait reaches KD 12 million, 25 million in Saudi Arabia and 10 million in Egypt, he indicated. The company’s total assets hit KD 57.7 million with a shareholders’ equity of KD 38.2 million, he said, adding book value per share reached 210 fils.
