Kuwait Stocks Outshine Gulf Peers as Ruler Pushes for Reforms
(Bloomberg) -- Kuwaiti stocks are outpacing their Gulf peers this year, with banks driving a rally built on optimism that long-delayed economic reforms are gaining traction.
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The Boursa Kuwait Premier Market has jumped 11% this year, more than four times the pace of gains in neighboring Dubai and twice as much as MSCI Inc.'s emerging markets gauge.
The buzz around Kuwaiti equities is a wager that moves by ruler Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah to clear obstacles holding back government spending will work. He suspended parliament for four years last May to end political deadlock, with a spinoff of that expected to be legislation allowing the OPEC member to sell its first bonds since 2017.
The potential for other reforms in areas like property finance have helped power a surge in banking stocks. Boubyan Bank KSCP, Burgan Bank SAK and Warba Bank KSCP are all up at least 18% this year.
'The mortgage law is expected to accelerate growth for Kuwait banks' retail franchises,' said Jaap Meijer, head of research at Arqaam Capital in Dubai.
Kuwaiti stocks also have the attraction of less-demanding valuations than the average of Gulf peers. Kuwait's benchmark index trades at 14.1 times forward earnings, which is below an average of 15.7 times over the past five years.
Plus, the Kuwait index could potentially win an upgrade from secondary to advanced emerging-market status in index compiler FTSE Russell's September review. While that won't trigger higher passive inflows, it would boost sentiment.
There are risks to the positive picture: legislative reforms may still take longer than investors like and a boost to the Kuwaiti bourse's standing in the emerging-market universe may prove elusive.
For now, the mood is upbeat enough to draw investors and raise the prospect of additional listings as companies look to benefit from the confident tone.
'The current market conditions augur well for initial public offerings, so we will not be surprised if we see a couple of IPOs this year,' said Junaid Ansari, director of Investment Strategy and Research at Kamco Invest in Kuwait City. 'And IPOs support market performance in general.'
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