KUWAIT, March 31, (KUNA): Financial markets and corporations and banks in Kuwait and other GCC states were negatively affected with ripples of the global meltdown in 2009, according to a senior executive. Dherar Al-Ghanem, Chairman of Kuwait Financial Center (Markaz), said at the general assembly of the company held on Wednesday that Kuwait Stock Exchange, KSE, for example, had incurred 9.3 percent losses as a result of difficulties suffered by listed firms and corporations.

Several domestic financial and real-estate corporations faced tangible challenges, defaulting on financial liabilities for banks in the region and abroad, said Al-Ghanem, who excluded Al-Markaz saying it maintained solid solvency, competitive status and posted earnings. The company recorded net profits amounting to KD 2.5 million, six fils per share, compared to losses that reached KD 18.7 million in 2008. He affirmed that 2009 was a testing year for the local and regional financial markets but expressed his belief that the governments’ plans to salvage the markets and the financial institutions largely bore fruits.