After successful technical tests, Emerging Companies Market set to launch and accept listing applications

Following the successful completion of all technical and operational requirements in coordination with capital market stakeholders and participants, the Emerging Companies Market will officially launch and begin accepting listing applications starting today, Sunday, December 14, 2025.

The Emerging Companies Market was established as a result of a joint effort led by the Capital Markets Authority, which approved the regulatory framework for the market and updated the listing rules to reinforce corporate commitment to disclosure and governance requirements. These measures aim to enhance transparency and liquidity, while enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to access more flexible funding channels and fostering investor confidence through a balanced regulatory environment aligned with international best practices.

In addition, Boursa Kuwait completed 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, an integrated approach that ensures the market's readiness from launch and lays the foundation for a fair and transparent trading environment tailored to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The ECM is the fruit of institutional coordination between the Capital Markets Authority and Boursa Kuwait and demonstrates the collective commitment of the capital market ecosystem to creating a secure and efficient listing environment.

Supporting the growth of national companies and offers investors new opportunities within a modern regulatory and operational framework, the ECM enhances the competitiveness of Kuwait’s capital market and contributes to the country’s economic development goals.

“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, said Boursa Kuwait’s Head of Markets Noura AlAbdulkareem.

“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. Together, these efforts aim to empower national companies to grow and contribute to a robust and sustainable private sector that supports the national economy,” she added.

“We deeply value the continuous support of the Capital Markets Authority and the efforts of our partners across the capital market apparatus, whose contributions to the extensive technical testing were vital in ensuring a transparent, efficient and fully prepared market that serves all participants effectively.”

Listing on the Emerging Companies Market represents a strategic opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), providing access to diverse sources of funding at a lower cost compared to traditional financing, which is made possible through improved transparency, enhanced governance practices and reduced risk.

Listing 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. It also enhances a company’s credibility and strengthens investor and financial institution confidence, opening the door to new local and international partnerships and investments, while supporting sustainable growth and expansion.

The Emerging Companies Market 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 valuer 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.

Companies may list either capital increase shares or shares held by existing shareholders, subject to the approved listing requirements.

Companies interested in listing on the Emerging Companies Market can visit Boursa Kuwait’s official website to complete the “Listing Readiness Assessment” form. For additional support throughout the listing journey, including guidance at each stage and access to a network of approved advisors with legal and regulatory expertise, they may contact the Institutional Investor Affairs team within the Markets Sector of Boursa Kuwait.

As part of its market development plans, Boursa Kuwait continues to advance 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.

Since succeeding the Kuwait Stock Exchange and assuming responsibility for managing and operating the stock market in 2016, Boursa Kuwait has worked to build an advanced trading ecosystem defined by reliability and flexibility. This development has been supported by modern infrastructure and regulatory procedures aligned with global best practices, which strengthened the market’s ability to attract liquidity and enhanced its competitiveness regionally and internationally.

The privatization of the exchange in 2019 marked a major turning point, as Boursa Kuwait became the first government entity in the country to be fully privatized successfully. This shift directly improved levels of efficiency and corporate governance and was followed by the company’s self-listing in 2020, reaffirming its commitment to transparency and strengthening investor confidence in the market.

As part of its development strategy, the exchange continued to implement initiatives to comprehensively upgrade infrastructure and diversify investment instruments. 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.

These achievements affirm Boursa Kuwait’s position as an attractive investment platform capable of supporting sustainable growth and reflect its commitment to enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy and advancing the objectives of the “New Kuwait” Vision and the country’s broader development plan.