Kuwait Financial Centre "Markaz" announced that it is currently a Market Maker for the shares of two listed companies, Boursa Kuwait and AlEid Foods Company, with the aim of increasing the volume of trading, hence boosting the trading of their shares in Boursa Kuwait. In its capacity as Market Maker, Markaz will be supporting the Boursa growth rates and increasing stability by contributing to the improvement of liquidity levels in general. Markaz’s provision of Market Maker services on these two stocks follows the licensing of Markaz by the Capital Markets Authority as a Market Maker in Boursa Kuwait, reaffirming its prominent and leading position in the capital markets in general, and in the Kuwaiti financial market in particular.
In light of Markaz’s position as a Market Maker service provider, Mr. Azzam Al-Otaibi, Assistant Manager, MENA Equities in Markaz said: “We view Markaz as a partner to Boursa Kuwait in the development of the Kuwait capital markets, hence we work closely with other market makers to support Boursa Kuwait in its quest to improve levels of liquidity. Markaz will work towards expanding the provision of orders to continuously buy and sell the shares of the two companies, in order to increase trading opportunities for these two securities amongst traders, by providing more suitable buying and selling prices, which will have a positive impact on their liquidity. Markaz also seeks to reduce buying and selling prices to create the much-needed balance, in the case where there is a high supply of shares and low demand, and vice versa”.
Mr. Al-Otaibi highlighted that Markaz will provide Market Maker services in line with international best practices by adopting the best operating systems that will be managed by a team of trading experts and specialists. Mr. Al-Otaibi added, "As leading asset managers, we will focus on the inflow of liquidity into small stocks, contributing to the diversification of investment options offered to our clients, while enabling us to find more alternatives”.
Mr. Al-Otaibi also explained that the Market Maker services also aim to create a continuous balance between supply and demand, in addition to bridging the gap between the buying and selling prices, which may lead to greater inflows into the listed companies that are offered these services. This in turn, will have a positive impact on the companies’ borrowing costs, and perhaps enhance the value of the company shares and support their trading at fairer values. That said; Market Maker services motivate other companies to list their shares on the exchange, which serves to support the overall development of the Kuwait economy.