The Central Bank of Kuwait has issued a directive prohibiting financial institutions from accepting mortgages over buildings constructed on state-owned land as qualifying collateral. This regulatory intervention closes a market practice gap and carries significant implications for project finance structures, particularly affecting lenders who had previously accepted such security arrangements outside the PPP framework.

Any sale of shares of a company listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange ("KSE") amounting to 5% or more of the company’s share capital must follow Kuwait’s procedures for block trading as well as disclose such a transfer to the KSE.

Kuwaiti companies being issuers of bonds that are due for redemption are presently under duress given that the local securities and real estate markets have turned sour due to the global financial crisis.

Kuwait’s National Assembly unanimously passed on January 20th, 2010 a groundbreaking bill that will regulate the country’s stock market for the first time. The Capital Markets Bill (the "Bill"), once passed in a second reading in the weeks to come,will provide for greater transparency of security activities within Kuwait.