Kuwait Stock Exchange sees strong foreign inflows, led by institutions and corporates

The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) attracted foreign investments worth 442.36 million dinars during the first half of 2025, driven primarily by a significant increase in net foreign purchases, particularly from institutions and companies, whose total net acquisitions of Kuwaiti stocks reached approximately 453 million dinars.

In contrast, foreign investment funds contributed a modest 2.5 million dinars in net purchases, while individual foreign investors exited shares valued at 13.09 million dinars, reports Al-Rai daily.

Data from the KSE’s monthly trading volume statistics by nationality showed a notable acceleration in June, with foreign investments increasing by 118.25 million dinars in that month alone.

Institutional and corporate purchases accounted for 121 million dinars of that total.

Meanwhile, individual foreign investments declined by 2.49 million dinars, and foreign funds saw a smaller drop of around 317,500 dinars.

While foreign investors demonstrated strong buying momentum, Kuwaiti investors maintained a net selling trend, offloading shares worth approximately 431.49 million dinars in the first six months of the year.

Individual Kuwaiti traders reduced their holdings by 231.77 million dinars, while institutions and companies sold stocks worth 156.63 million dinars. Client portfolios recorded net sales of 35.7 million dinars, and investment funds exited with 7.36 million dinars in net sales.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) investors also registered net outflows during the same period, amounting to 10.8 million dinars. This was primarily due to institutional and corporate sales totaling 8.38 million dinars, along with fund sales of 4.9 million dinars.

However, individual investors from the GCC region posted net purchases of about 2.43 million dinars. In June alone, Gulf investors withdrew approximately 5.86 million dinars, with individual sales representing the largest share at 5.13 million dinars, followed by corporate sales of 377,900 dinars and fund sales of 356,700 dinars.

The growing foreign inflows into Kuwait’s stock market are widely viewed as a positive indicator of investor confidence, reflecting an encouraging outlook for the country’s economic and financial environment.

This trend aligns with a series of reforms and developments that have increased Kuwait’s appeal to global capital.

These include economic diversification efforts, structural reforms, and the inclusion of the Kuwait Stock Exchange in major international indices such as the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, FTSE Russell, and S&P.

Additionally, the country’s push toward digital transformation and financial technology development has further boosted its attractiveness to foreign investors.

These inflows are expected to stimulate greater demand for select stocks, especially those seen as strategic or growth-oriented, thereby contributing to the overall expansion of listed companies and enhancing economic performance.

During the same period, the number of trading accounts on the Kuwait Stock Exchange rose by 1.33%, increasing by 5,760 accounts to reach a total of 437,350 accounts.

Despite the overall growth, active accounts declined slightly by 0.5%, or 108 accounts, dropping from 22,537 in December to 22,429 by the end of June. On the other hand, inactive accounts rose by 1.43%, adding 5,869 accounts over the six months.

Kuwaiti accounts increased by 1.2%, or 4,968 accounts, although the number of active Kuwaiti accounts declined by 1.8%, from 20,640 in December to 20,250 at mid-year.

In contrast, active foreign accounts saw strong growth, rising by 17.56%, or 286 accounts, to reach 1,914. Active GCC accounts saw a slight decrease of 1.11%, bringing the total to 266 active accounts by the end of June.