The Investment Studies Center (ISC) at Union of Investment Companies (UIC), in collaboration with Euromoney held a training program titled “Governance & Stewardship" during the period (Monday & Tuesday) 07th & 8th October 2019 at Courtyard Marriott Hotel Kuwait. Ms. Alissa Amico delivered the course to the delegates.
In this regard, Ms. Fadwa Darwish, ISC Acting Director & Director of Technical Support at UIC reported that the role of institutional investors in corporate governance have been under spotlight in recent years for variety of reasons, not least due to the growth of capital under management by both state and private institutions. Reflecting this trend, GOVERN Center, a unique think tank and advisory firm specializing in governance in emerging markets and the Union of Investment Companies, a leading Kuwaiti organization mandated to promote an effective investment sector in Kuwait, have organized a two-day training workshop on governance and stewardship for Kuwaiti institutional investors.
The workshop reflected best practices for asset owners and managers, highlighting differences in approaches by institutional investors internationally and in the Gulf, notably in Kuwait. This first-of-a -kind training event was delivered by Alissa Amico, Managing Director of GOVERN, who noted that “governance responsibilities of institutional investors have been growing worldwide with the rise of stewardship codes and increased investor and regulator expectations.”
Stewardship of Kuwaiti citizens’ wealth by both sovereign and private investors is of critical importance, especially in light of the restructuring of the Kuwait stock exchange with a view to further deepen the capital market. While corporate governance has been the focus of both Central Bank and the Capital Market Authority regulations, institutional investors’ responsibilities have yet to be adequately addressed, while their participation in the equity market is significant.
Sovereign investors alone account for 25% of ownership of KSE listed companies, according to GOVERN recent estimates. GOVERN has been collaborating with sovereign funds but also with private institutional investors across the Gulf and in other emerging markets, assisting them to enhance their governance capacity as asset owners. “We look forward to developing our collaboration with the UIC to deliver comprehensive governance, compliance and integrity solutions to a range of local family, state and listed companies targeted to Kuwaiti laws and customs”, commented Ms. Amico.
“Promoting governance and stewardship is at the core of the mandate of the Union of Investment Companies and this workshop paves the way for future activities in this area and a collaboration with GOVERN Center of which we proud”, commented xx on behalf of the UIC. Due to the demand for this customized training, GOVERN and the UIC will be releasing further details regarding planned events and roundtables on a range of governance and compliance topics for 2019-2020 in the near future.
By the end of the program, the participants received their certificates,