Kuwaiti economists unanimously agreed that the shares of the operating companies’ sectors (banking, telecommunications and logistics) listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) are still the focus of attention of Kuwaiti and foreign investors, whether they are individuals, funds or institutions, out of the 13 market sectors.
In separate interviews with KUNA Sunday, these economists said that despite the external factors affecting global, Gulf and Arab financial markets, such as the repercussions of raising interest rates and the results of the Russian-Ukrainian war, “the Kuwaiti market is separated due to the strength of its operational companies.” Vice Chairman of NCM Investment Nasser Al-Marri stated that this segment of shares achieves profits that can be measured and the investment can be built on them like others. It is also possible to benefit from its distributions and the growth of shareholders’ equity due to it achieving annual distributions ranging from 8-10 percent.
Most of the shares of banks achieve profits at the level of their share prices listed on the stock exchange due to being operational as their investments are medium and long-term and are usually targeted by professional investors, however other investors direct their investments towards shares of companies below 100 fils, Al-Marri added.
From his side, economist Nayef Al-Enezi said that the investors in the stock exchange are different types, including large funds and small traders.
Al-Enezi attributed the access of large investors in operational shares to achieving the required liquidity for them, in addition to facilitating the exit process for them without risk, and because it is better than deposits from their point of view, if the returns are measured it achieves on their capital.
The speculators in the market are of two types, the first is trained and professional while knowing the methods of speculation, and the other is ignorant of the principles of speculation in the stock exchange, and they are the majority of the stock market, he explained.
Traders who lost their identity inside the stock exchange, the ones that cannot be classified as a speculator or an investor, are a good percentage, and he classifies them as owners of unstable positions and often do not find any growth in their financial positions, which are almost losing, however limited, he mentioned.
Meanwhile, Kuwait Dealers Association Chairman Mohammad Al-Tarrah said that the operating sectors listed on KSE enjoy a variety of advantages over others, based on several reasons, including the actual performance in purchase or sale orders, which makes them the focus of investors’ attention.
Al-Tarrah mentioned that despite the pressure factors on the global, Arab and Gulf financial markets, such as the repercussions of raising interest rates and the results of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the banking sector contributed about 55.7 percent of the stock market’s profits during 2022, followed by the telecommunications sector with around 12.4 percent of the profits.
He expected the continuation of the pace of entry into the shares of the operating sectors during the remainder of the first half of the year 2023 until the announcement of the profits for that period, which would increase its movement directly on those companies, associates and affiliates, which is in the interest of the market
Source: Kuwait News Agency