According to Capital Markets Authority Resolution No. 15 of 2021, which included the amendment of Book Twelve (Listing Rules) of the Executive Regulations of Law No. 7 of 2010, every company listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange must:
- Provide the Kuwait Stock Exchange and the Capital Markets Authority with its revised interim financial statements within forty-five days from the end of the period for which the statement was prepared for the interim financial statements, and disclose them simultaneously according to the form prepared for this by the stock exchange, the shares of the listed company shall be suspended from trading if it is late after this date.
- Provide the Kuwait Stock Exchange and the Capital Markets Authority with its audited annual financial statements within ninety days from the end of the fiscal year, and disclose them simultaneously according to the form prepared for that by the Stock Exchange. The shares of the listed company shall be suspended from trading immediately if it is late for this date.
Banks are exempted from submitting their financial statements referred to in the previous two items during the same dates to the Authority, without prejudice to the rules set by the Central Bank of Kuwait in this regard for the units subject to the supervision of the Central Bank of Kuwait.
The following procedures shall be applied in case the auditor expresses an opposite opinion or decides not to express an opinion on the interim or annual financial statements of the listed company:
1- The listed company’s disclosure according to the disclosure form prepared for this by the Stock Exchange, including the following:
- The auditor’s opinion in writing.
- A detailed explanation of the situation that called the auditor to express an opinion.
- The steps that the company will take to address the contents of any auditor.
- The timetable for implementing the steps to address what was stated in the auditor’s opinion.
2- The Stock Exchange suspends the shares of the listed company from trading, and the Capital Markets Authority may decide to return the shares of the listed company to trading, which is suspended, when one of the following cases is achieved:
- Processing the matters that prompted the auditor to express this opinion and providing evidence of that to the Authority.
- Issuance of new financial statements that do not include an adverse opinion or no opinion.
- Any other cases that the Authority deems acceptable.
In the event that the auditor expresses a conservative opinion on the interim or annual financial statements of the listed company, the listed company is obligated to disclose according to the disclosure form prepared for this by the Stock Exchange, including the following:
- The auditor’s opinion in writing.
- A detailed explanation of the situation that called the auditor to express an opinion.
- The steps that the company will take to address the contents of any auditor.
- The timetable for implementing the steps to address what was stated in the auditor’s opinion.
The Capital Markets Authority has the right to ask the listed company’s board of directors for disciplinary reasons for the reasons that led to the suspension of trading in the share, in the following cases – for example -:
1- Suspending the trading of the share due to the listed company’s failure to provide the Stock Exchange and the Authority with its interim and annual financial statements on the dates set for this.
2- Suspending the trading of the share due to the auditor expressing an opposite opinion or deciding not to express an opinion on the interim or annual financial statements of the listed company.
3- If the contract with the auditor is terminated due to a dispute between the listed company and the auditor.
4- If the listed company does not hold its annual ordinary general assembly following the end of the fiscal year within two months from the date of its disclosure of its audited annual financial statements, non-Kuwait companies listed on the stock exchange are excluded from the provisions of this article, and the systems in force in the stock exchange in which they are listed in the country in which those companies are incorporated apply.
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