Title: Pess Release: The Capital Markets Authority Towards Adopting the Sustainability Standards and Issuing Reports on Governance and Social and Environmental Responsibility (ESG)

Kuwait, August 4, 2024 – The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) towards adopting sustainability standards and is33suing reports on governance and social and environmental responsibility (ESG)

Achieving Sustainable Development:
The State of Kuwait is considered one of the leading countries in signing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and joining the Kyoto Protocol attached to the UNFCCC. This reflects the country’s interest and direction towards collaborating with the other countries in the climate change concern and the necessity of the international partnership to address that change. Moreover, the New Kuwait vision 2035 stated that the State of Kuwait shall be a pioneer in sustainable development through the implementation of the provisions of agreements  that address  the climate change by all government and private institutions in order to position Kuwait as a primary and effective player within the international framework in combating  climate change, improving environmental indicators, and achieving sustainable development in all environmental, economic, social, and corporate governance areas.

CMA’s Strategy:
The CMA has taken steps towards adopting sustainability standards and incorporated them as an initiative in its third strategy plan  extending from the financial year 2023/2024 to the financial year 2026/2027. This initiative is the result of the State of Kuwait’s implementation of the sustainability standards to achieve public welfare. The CMA has progressed towards exploring  available standards, studying theoretical frameworks adopted by international institutions experiences in implementing the sustainability standards and report issuance mechanisms, including data and information that align with its nature and activities, in accordance with the country’s directions, and to be a leading government entity in implementing the sustainability standards and disclosing governance and social and environmental responsibility reflecting its professionalism, development, and concern for climate change and social responsibility issues. This gives it added value and enhances its reputation as a leading government entity. Accordingly, the CMA has established a permanent committee specialized in adopting the sustainability standards and measuring and monitoring its indicators, whose output will be the issuance of the annual reports of governance and social and environmental responsibility (ESG).

Importance of Adopting Sustainability Standards:
As the CMA continues its efforts towards achieving the strategic development directions of the State of Kuwait, derived from the lofty vision of transforming into a leading regional financial center though the batch of reforms and development it has launched since its establishment in 2010 towards creating an attractive investment environment that owns the required elements of efficiency, integrity, and transparency, the CMA looks forward, with the pursuit of its affiliates and continuous support of its efforts, to complete these projects properly, which shall create a quantum leap in the local securities activities in particular and the investment environment in general, and establish an important launch and a major pillar in achieving the aspired vision of the country. This is a result of the CMA’s permanent pursuit to develop its work, upgrade its performance, maintain its excellence, and become a pioneer in all aspects. In fact, the definition of governance, social and environmental responsibility, and sustainability gained significant momentum in the past few years, and it is considered an essential factor in attracting foreign investments and has become one of the important foundations of improving the investment environment and implementing the sustainability standards and disclosing them.

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has issued the first two standards for disclosing sustainability. The Financial and Treasury Department at the CMA stated that those standards are considered a quantum leap in the preparation of financial statements due to their inclusion of the general requirements of disclosing the financial information of sustainability and climate. Moreover, these standards made a quantum leap in the disclosure of sustainable development and transferred it into measurable data whose financial, environmental, and social impact can be determined. The standards included disclosure of governance and sustainability and their current and future financial impact on the institution, the management of risks related to them, the institution’s strategy of addressing them, and their performance indicators, which promote the institutions’ disclosures and the ability of evaluating their performance and support their investment decisions. Furthermore, this step comes in line with the international direction of unifying the standards of sustainability and its disclosure and promotes these disclosures’ credibility and comparability.

Ends-
Notes to Editors:
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kuwait was established pursuant to Law No. 7 of 2010 Regarding the Establishment of the Capital Markets Authority and Regulating Securities Activities, and its amendments, approved by the Kuwaiti Parliament in February 2010. Under this Law, the CMA regulates and supervises securities activities, ensures transparency, fairness, efficiency, and observes listed companies’ implementation of Corporate Governance regulations. The CMA also protects investors from unfair practices and violations of the CMA's Law.

Furthermore, the Law's provisions stipulate the supervision of mergers, acquisitions, and disclosure operations. The CMA also aims to provide awareness programs related to securities activities.

For further information, please contact:
Public Relations & Media Office
Tel: 22903062
Fax: 22903505
Email: pr-media@cma.gov.kw