Kuwaiti bourse suspends firms

KUWAIT CITY - Agence France-Presse

The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) yesterday suspended trading in the shares of 31 listed firms, a majority of them investment companies, for failing to report financial results on time.

A statement posted on the KSE website said the companies violated a rule that requires them to announce financial results for the first quarter within 45 days.

Many of the firms had already been suspended for not declaring results for previous periods.

Twenty of the firms suspended are investment companies that were badly hit by the global financial crisis and have so far failed to recover from its impact.

KSE, the third largest Arab bourse in market value after Saudi Arabia and Qatar, lists around 220 Kuwaiti and Gulf companies and has a capitalization of $105 billion. Among the firms suspended are Investment Dar and Global Investment, two major investment firms that have been reeling under the impact of debt.