Outcomes were achieved despite the markets and the economy’s negative performance.

Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi:

• The company’s solid financial position lies behind successfully overcoming challenges and leveraging available investment opportunities.
• Q1 results are supported by maintaining operations despite the capital markets’ negative performance in Kuwait and the region.
• The company continues its digital transformation strategy and expansion in the application and development of intelligent solutions to meet the needs and aspirations of customers.

Fahad Abdulrahman Al Mukhaizim:

• One of NIC’s significant achievements is seizing the best investment opportunities and attracting new clients, investments, and advisory deals during Q1 2023.
• The excellent investment performance reflects the management’s success in adopting strategies that achieve financial returns for clients and maintain the company’s position in the market.
• The company’s Market Maker portfolio has expanded, with 11 companies listed on Boursa Kuwait.

 

 

The National Investments Company (NIC) has revealed its financial results for the first quarter of this year, including a detailed analytical presentation on its performance and financial position for 2023.

In a statement to the press, Mr. Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi, Chairman of NIC, said that the company’s financial results for the first quarter of this year were supported by maintaining operations via executing a range of mergers, acquisitions, sales, and restructurings, and various advisory services, which positive results have accompanied despite adverse market fluctuations in the capital markets both in Kuwait and the region, as one of the largest investment companies in Kuwait and the region for more than three and a half decades, which resulted in outstanding successes within its multiple activities, and its ability to overcome all crises and exceptional situations, in addition to its ability to preserve the interests of its clients with high efficiency.

Al-Kharafi reviewed the financial results achieved by the National Investments Company during the first quarter of 2023, where it earned a net profit of KD 1.1 million at 1.3 fils per share, explaining that the reasons for the decrease in net profit are due to the change in interest rates in the region and the world, which led to a negative reflection in the performance of GCC market indices, where these indices declined and reached -3.3% in Kuwait, -6.9% in the UAE market and -5.4% in the Qatar market.

Total assets under management at the end of the first quarter of 2023 amounted to KD1.090 billion, while the mother company’s total shareholders’ equity reached KD 192.9 million during the first quarter of this year.

 

Outstanding Customer Service

Al-Kharafi also highlighted NIC’s ability to provide diversified and innovative investment products according to customers’ requirements and ambitions while guiding them to achieve their investment goals, which contributes to achieving geographical investment diversity and expanding the scope of the company’s investment services to new areas regionally and internationally through a clear risk management strategy.

This allowed the Wealth Management Sector to obtain one of the most important awards at the level of the financial industry regionally, which is the “Best Wealth Management Company in Kuwait for 2023” by the global platform Euromoney, based on specific criteria, a lengthy evaluation process, a comprehensive study on factors such as key performance indicators and financial ratios in addition to innovation and new services. The Euromoney awards and classifications have extended for over 50 years, attracting thousands of entries from international financial institutions.

 

 

 

Digital Transformation

The National Investments Company’s strategy is to ensure reaching the highest levels of customer satisfaction through constant communication with them, sharing studies and surveys, and moving on with digital transformation to expand the application of intelligent solutions and develop them to make a qualitative leap in innovative while developing investment services and products that meet all the needs and aspirations of the company’s customers.

 

Sustainable Impact

Al-Kharafi also revealed the company’s remarkable corporate social responsibility efforts, characterized by diversity and inclusiveness. NIC continued to initiate and support many initiatives and programs, including sports activities and events, providing a platinum sponsorship to the Padel Open Tournament and Championship, which included several social enterprises.

The company has also cooperated with the Kuwait Food Bank and Relief to provide Eid Al-Fitr clothing to underprivileged families. This initiative has had a positive impact on these families.

To conclude, Al-Kharafi expressed his sincere appreciation to NIC’s customers and confirmed that the company’s key objective is to achieve further positive results in the future. He also thanked the regulatory authorities, wishing everyone success.

 

 

Powerful performance and Ongoing Opportunities

Mr. Fahad Abdulrahman Al-Mukhaizim, Board Member and CEO of the National Investments Company, praised the remarkable performance and efforts of the Financial Advisory Services Department; these efforts, along with the company’s extensive network, our strategic vision in attracting investments and advisory services during the first quarter of this year. These deals included a capital increase agreement for a closed joint stock company. NIC has played an independent investment advisor role for a reverse merger deal within the food and beverage sector. The company’s Alternative Investments team achieved two deals in the real estate sector in the United States of America and France during the first quarter of the this year.

On the performance of the MENA’s Priced Investments Sector, Al-Mukhaizim pointed out that the first quarter of 2023 witnessed an excellent performance of investment funds, reflecting the success of management in adopting strategies that achieve financial returns for clients while maintaining the company’s position in the market.

Looking at the performance of funds during this period, Al-Mukhaizim stated that despite the negative factors behind the market volatility and concerns related to global and local political and economic conditions, mainly the global political tensions and conflicts, which made expectations for global economic growth, weak; also, the rise in international inflation rates and the continued tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve by raising interest rates to control inflation. Some of our investment funds have yet achieved outstanding performance compared to the rest of the local funds established in Kuwait, thanks to rational decisions and prudent management of funds, making investment decisions consistent with good and wise investment practices in achieving rewarding returns for unitholders by investing in the shares of preferred companies with high revenues, solid management, and a clear future vision, which had a significant impact on stability at the level of cash distributions and grants.

Zajil Services & Telecommunications Fund has achieved a positive performance of 7.18% in addition to Mawarid Industrial and Petroleum Services Fund, which also recorded a positive performance of 2.17%. On 20/4/2023, cash dividends were distributed to the unitholders of Al Wataniya Investment Fund for the second half of 2022, 24 Fils per unit of capital to net unit value as of 31/03/2023, thanks to NIC’s specialized and experienced team.

Al Mukhaizim also highlighted that NIC had expanded its portfolio as a Market Maker by joining Dalqan Real Estate Company, bringing up to 11 companies listed on Boursa Kuwait, as part of its continuous efforts to contribute to the development of the market.

The real estate investment sector has also witnessed a significant upgrade, as occupancy rates within the company’s properties and properties managed by it have been raised to unprecedented rates of 100% in some properties, renting vacant units to increase the occupancy rate and moving forward with the renovation and development of Wataniya Resort during the current year.

 

Digitization of Services

Regarding digital services, innovation, and offering solutions to the company’s customers, National Investments Company has continuously introduced new choices within the electronic trading service and several other features for customers’ smooth and flexible use.

It has also developed an electronic real estate system to enable tenants to follow up on all matters related to their units, such as maintenance requests and electronic payments. And property owners to follow up on their assets and financial flows. The size of real estate portfolios has been increased with several additional properties managed by the sector, which has increased the revenues by 4.5%

 

Positive Work Environment

To conclude, Al- Mukhaizim praised NIC’s human resources efforts in creating a positive work environment for employees during the first quarter. One of the initiatives undertaken by the department was relaunching a program dedicated to offering first aid certificates to the company’s employees to respond to emergencies. NIC has also provided a health insurance program that provides additional coverage and benefits to all employees. Additionally, the company has held several events and activities to create an effective communication environment between employees.