Kuwait’s stock exchange delays trading debut due to Covid-19

The Kuwait Stock Exchange is delaying the listing of its shares due to restrictions on work triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

The listing, scheduled for April 19, has been postponed until further notice “due to exceptional circumstances that are imposed by the spread of the coronavirus pandemic,” the bourse said in a statement. Kuwait’s would have been the second stock exchange in the Gulf region to list its shares after Dubai.

The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted business in the region, with countries imposing varying degrees of lockdowns. Among the major deals delayed are Kuwait Finance House KSCP’s $8.8bn merger with Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank and Saudi Telecom’s plan to acquire a stake in Vodafone Egypt.

The initial public offering of half of the Kuwait bourse to citizens last year followed a 44 per cent sale to a consortium of domestic and international investors. It was more than 8.5 times oversubscribed.

The postponement comes after index compiler MSCI’s delay of the bourse’s upgrade to its emerging markets category to November from May. The index tracking major Kuwaiti shares retreated 28 per cent this year.

Kuwait has reported 1,300 cases of the coronavirus, 150 recoveries and two deaths.