KUWAIT CITY, March 15: KIPCO Asset Management Company announced on Monday at a press conference the listing of Manafae Investment Company K.S.C. shares on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). Trading of the shares under the investment category will commence on Tuesday, March 16, under the name ‘Manafae’.
Speaking to the press on this occasion, KAMCO CEO, Sadoun Ali, said that Manafae is a closed Kuwaiti Shareholding company established on Oct 5, 2005 with a fully paid capital of KD 20 million under the jurisdiction of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) according to Kuwaiti Commercial Law.
The company’s activities are completely Sharia compliant, supervised by a Sharia council nominated by the General Assembly. The authorized paid up capital of the company is equivalent to 200,881,430 shares at a value of 100 Kuwaiti fils per share, which comprises a total value of KD 2,088,143 as of September 30, 2009.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the management at KSE for their full cooperation to complete the listing formalities of Manafae on the stock exchange. This will no doubt improve the company’s general standing and support the Islamic investment sector as a whole. I would also like to thank the board of directors and investors of Manafae for their trust and for choosing KAMCO to be their listing advisor,” said Ali.
Chairman of Manafae Investment Company, Eid Hathaal Al-Nasafi added that the company hopes that this important step will be a catalyst in realizing the goals of our investors and in revitalizing the activities of the company.
For his part, Vice-Chairman of Manafae Investment Company, Talal Al-Mutawa, explained that, since 2006, the company has followed a strategy of increasing its assets and the assets under management as well as diversifying the sources of income both in the Kuwait and GCC markets.
“In addition, we pursue a policy of risk management and aversion. Manafae has invested directly and indirectly in many sectors and this has reflected positively on our financial performance and strength, especially in 2007 and 2008 despite the ongoing financial crises that began in mid-2008,” he said.
Manafae Investment Company’s total revenue was KD 3.95 million for 2008 and KD 1.46 million for the period ending September 30, 2009. The earning profits for the same period were KD 1.56 million and KD 53,899 for the term ending Sept.30, 2009. The book value amounts to 133 fils per share for 2008 and 131 fils per share for the period ending in Sept.30, 2009. The earnings per share for 2008 stand at 7.8 fils and 0.3 fils keeping in mind that the company distributed dividends to its investors in the past totaling 10 fils per share for 2007 and 5 fils per share for 2008.
“The company’s financial results for 2009, KD 53,899, are due to the ongoing financial crises. The company has adopted a number of procedures and policies in 2009 which have resulted in lessening the effects of the financial crises on the company’s financial position, resulting in the company’s total assets reaching KD 33 million. This is in addition to maintaining healthy levels of liquidity as well as shareholders’ equity of KD 26.4 million for the same period,” explained Al-Mutawa.
He further added that the company’s strategy for the next three years will focus on improving its financial position, diversifying the sources of income and seizing investment opportunities during these hard times.
Head of the Corporate Finance Department at KAMCO, Faisal Sarkhou, expressed his gratitude for being chosen to undertake this transaction, especially since this indirectly supports the investment sector improving commercial activity that contributes to local and regional economic development.