Title: The Capital Markets Authority Participates in the Eighteenth Meeting of the Heads of GCC Capital Markets Authorities Committee

Kuwait, May 2, 2019. A delegation from the Capital Markets Authority of Kuwait has participated in the eighteenth assembly of the Heads of GCC Capital Markets Authorities Committee (or their equivalents) that took place in Muscat, Oman. 

The CMA delegation was headed by Prof. Ahmad Al-Melhem -Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, Managing Director, with the participation of: Mr. Muthanna Al-Saleh - Head of Markets Sector-, Mr. Moayed Al-Shakhs - Director of Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Office, and Mr. Abdulrahman Mohamad -Director of International Relations Office.

The members of this assembly were as follows: Mr. Khalifa Bin Saeed Al-Abri - The GCC Assistant Secretary General for the Economic and Development Affairs, and the Vice President for the Capital Market Sector in The Capital Markets Authority in Oman, Dr. Obaid Saif Al-Za’abi -The Managing Director of The Securities and Commodities Authority in United Arab Emirates, Mr. Yousef Bin Hamad Al-Belaihid -Vice President of The Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Nasser Ahmad Al-Shibi -Managing Director of The Capital Markets Authority of Qatar-, and Mrs. Abeer Al-Shaikh Ibrahim Al Sa’ad – Director of The Capital Markets Supervision in the Central Bank of Bahrain.

In his opening speech, Mr. Abdullah Bin Salem Al-Salmi –The Managing Director in the Capital Market Authority of Oman, and the chairman of this assembly- welcomed the participants, and praised their achievements and developments that aim to interconnect the GCC countries. This was followed by a speech by Mr. Khalifa Al-Abri –The GCC Assistant Secretary General for the Economic and Development Affairs - who confirmed that according to the Gulf Cooperation Council, the capital markets can integrate the GCC countries economically in order to attract the international investments.

The committee browsed the resolutions of the previous assembly (the seventeenth) that was held in Kuwait, some of which were: the third meeting report that was about forming a team that works on the capital markets integration strategy in the GCC countries and their recommendations, and the sixth meeting report (December 2018, Kuwait) that was about forming a team that is responsible for training. The training team recommended that the Capital Markets Authority of Kuwait should update the privacy and usage policy in the shared training portal to be called ‘Gulf Capital Markets Knowledge Portal’. In addition, the committee browsed the results of last year’s training programs, and the suggested calendar for this year’s programs.

The committee discussed the progress of the memorandum of understanding, and the standard format of requesting information that was prepared by The Central Bank of Bahrain, which will be within the framework of cooperation and information exchange. In addition to discussing the work paper presented by the Securities and Commodities Authority in United Arab Emirates concerning the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as the work sheet presented by The Capital Market Authority in Oman concerning the application of the Passporting system.

The committee has also viewed the report of the second annual workshop on the trade observation as an exchange of experiences between the GCC countries, which was held in Kuwait in December 2018, in addition to the major updates and the developments that has occurred in the Capital Markets Authorities of the GCC countries.

September 2019 has been set as the date for the nineteenth meeting of the Heads of GCC Capital Markets Authorities Committee (or their equivalents) which will be held in Muscat, Oman.

It is worth noting that the Capital Markets Authority of Kuwait has hosted the seventeenth assembly of the committee in October 2018 in the presence and participation of the general secretariat representatives and heads of GCC Capital Markets Authorities Committee (or their equivalents).

Ends-
Notes to Editors:
The Capital Markets Authority was established pursuant to Law No. 7/2010, approved by the Kuwaiti Parliament in February 2010. Pursuant to the Law, the CMA shall regulate and supervise the securities activities, achieve transparency and fairness, observe listed companies’ execution of Corporate Governance regulations, and protect investors from unfair practices which violate 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.
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