404.8 million KD in capital increases for 35 listed companies

Data from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) revealed significant activity in corporate restructuring and capital enhancement operations during the 2025/2026 fiscal year. The Authority granted 35 approvals for capital increases totaling 404.8 million dinars, raising the capital of the affected companies from 6 billion dinars before the increase to 6.42 billion dinars afterward, representing a total growth of 6.73%.

Data from the Authority’s fifteenth annual report showed that capital increases took various forms during the fiscal year, with bonus shares accounting for the largest share by value. Increases classified exclusively as bonus shares amounted to approximately 361 million dinars, representing 89.16% of the total increase value of 404.8 million dinars, reflecting the dominance of bonus shares in capital increases during the year.

Conversely, net cash increases totaled approximately 27 million dinars, while the Authority recorded an in-kind increase of 5.34 million dinars. Additionally, there was one transaction combining bonus shares and cash increases, totaling 11.55 million dinars. This diversity in mechanisms highlights the varied approaches to capital increases adopted during the fiscal year, tailored to the specific needs and circumstances of different companies.

An analysis of capital movements revealed a clear disparity between increase and decrease trends. In contrast to the 35 approvals for capital increases, the Authority granted seven approvals for capital reductions during the same fiscal year, totaling 59.5 million dinars. This reduced the capital of the affected companies from 154.15 million dinars to 94.62 million dinars, a decrease equivalent to 38.62% of their total capital prior to the reductions.

The reasons for these reductions varied. The majority were linked to the full or partial offset of accumulated losses. Other cases involved the cancellation and write-off of treasury share balances, the split of a company into two independent entities, and the reduction of excess capital. These factors reflect the diverse financial and regulatory objectives behind the capital restructuring operations approved by the Authority during the period.

Calculating the difference between the operations recorded in the report, the total value of capital increases (404.8 million dinars) exceeded the total value of reductions (59.5 million dinars) by approximately 6.8 times. The net difference between increases and reductions amounted to roughly 345.3 million dinars, clearly demonstrating the predominance of capital increase approvals over reduction approvals during the fiscal year.

The data also revealed a notable temporal concentration of increase operations. The last quarter of the fiscal year, specifically from January to the end of March 2026, witnessed a high number of approvals, including those with substantial values, contributing to the total annual increases of 404.8 million dinars.

Corporate financing activities during the year were not limited to capital increases and reductions. The Authority also noted the receipt of 21 requests for approval to publish prospectuses during the fiscal year. These requests covered various instruments, including ordinary shares, sukuk, and bonds, reflecting the broadening scope of corporate financing activities in the capital market and the diversity of tools used to obtain funding and restructure capital bases.

The final outcome for the year underscores an important trend in the Kuwaiti capital market. The 35 approvals for capital increases versus seven for reductions indicate a ratio of five increase approvals for every one reduction approval. Furthermore, the total value of increases exceeded that of reductions by 345.3 million dinars. This confirms that approvals for capital enhancement constituted the dominant trend in the capital base restructuring of companies under the supervision of the Capital Markets Authority during the 2025/2026 fiscal year.

21 Approvals for Prospectuses

Capital market data revealed that the Authority received 21 requests for approval of prospectuses during the 2025/2026 fiscal year. These were distributed across a wide range of financial instruments and transactions, including ordinary shares, sukuk, and bonds, alongside general, private, supplementary prospectuses, and secondary offerings. This diversity reflects the variety of financing and capital operations witnessed by the capital market throughout the year.

According to monitoring, ordinary share-related transactions accounted for 12 of the total 21 approvals, representing 57.14% of the total. Sukuk-related approvals numbered five, accounting for 23.81%, while bonds of various types received four approvals, representing 19.05%.

The distribution of approvals reveals that prospectus activity was not limited to increasing companies’ capital but extended to multiple financing and capital instruments. These included issuances of perpetual sukuk and second-tier capital sukuk, as well as guaranteed perpetual bonds, second-tier bonds, and subordinated bonds. Additionally, the activity encompassed prospectuses for ordinary shares, whether for capital increases or to execute secondary offerings.