#Kuwait loosens ownership rules: Foreigners to be allowed to own more local bank shares | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Kuwait loosens ownership rules: Foreigners to be allowed to own more local bank shares | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Kuwait has loosened its capital market rules, allowing foreign investors to own a bigger stake of its local banks, according to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Saturday, another step in the Gulf state’s bid to encourage more overseas investment into the country. (Read more here).

Foreign ownership was previously not allowed to exceed more than 49 percent of a bank’s capital, but the new resolution removes this upper limit, according to a statement in Arabic issued by the ministry on Saturday.

It is not yet clear whether shares owned by foreign investors will be allowed to represent 100 percent of a bank’s capital, or how these rules will impact local investors. However, a report by the state news agency KUNA said investors will be required to gain approval from the Central Bank of Kuwait if the shares they want to buy represent more than 5 percent of a bank’s total capital.