Kuwaiti court orders stock exchange closed
Kuwaiti court orders stock exchange closed
Thursday, November 13, 2008
KUWAIT CITY (AP): A Kuwaiti court on Thursday ordered the temporary closure of the country's plummeting stock exchange, and the order went into effect within an hour.
The ruling by the Administrative Court in Kuwait City stemmed from a lawsuit filed by attorney Adel al-Abdul Hadi on behalf of two stock brokers concerned about the steep falls in the Kuwait Stock Exchange _ the Gulf Arab region's second largest bourse _ amid fallout from the global financial crisis.
The court's order was to take effect immediately and continue until the next court hearing Nov. 17. Within an hour, the state-owned Kuwait Television said all trading had stopped.
The decision came after traders staged demonstrations in front of the bourse, went to court and even tried to meet with the Gulf country's ruler on the issue.
``We are elated ... this is a historic ruling,'' said the lawyer, al-Abdul Hadi.
Kuwait's exchange has been falling sharply for months, though its losses have been smaller than those in other Gulf markets, including Dubai's Financial Market and Saudi Arabia's exchange.
On Wednesday, the market fell below the 9,000 point mark for the first time in three years.
This small Gulf state has formed a task force headed by Kuwait Central Bank governor Sheik Salem Abdul-Aziz Al Sabah to deal with the effects of the crisis on economy, which is overwhelmingly dependent on oil revenue.
Al Sabah has moved to guarantee all bank deposits and to set up a government portfolio to buy investment companies' assets _ a move that followed a halt in trading of Gulf Bank shares last month after some investors refused to cover losses stemming from derivatives deals.
hindu.com
