Title: Capital Markets Authority Inaugurates the Electronic Disclosure System XBRL (Towards Upgraded Transactions and Exchange of Information, and Enhanced Disclosure and Transparency in Kuwait Market)

Kuwait, April 30, 2016 – The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has inaugurated the electronic disclosure system of XBRL language. It is a strategic and vital system which is adopted by the CMA to enable it achieve its goals and play its regulatory role in establishing a solid foundation in Kuwait’s financial markets. This step also demonstrates the continuous efforts of upgrading and enhancing disclosure and transparency in the Kuwaiti market in order to achieve fairness, transparency, integrity and to prevent conflicts of interest and the exploitation of inside information.
The project aims at enhancing transparency and disclosure in financial markets by providing an automated system for disclosure, as well as financial and non-financial statements of listed companies and licensed persons by unifying the form of financial statements, which will enable all parties to deal with such statements. It will also ensure the accuracy of published statements and information, and provide access to all stakeholders and concerned parties. A number of leading countries and markets on the global and regional level have implemented electronic disclosure systems using XBRL. It is the sole system agreed upon globally for periodic disclosure. It contains all the needed aspects which contributes in enhancing transparency, and provides the financial statements in an efficient and timely manner. Eventually, this would increase the effectiveness of preparing, analyzing and publishing the financial statements, and promote investors’ trust.
XBRL is a standard digital language which is developed specifically to support disclosure and exchange of information among parties and entities involved in economic activities.  The system is known for its flexibility in dealing with information. It adopts a standardized coding of financial relations giving the reader readable and understandable material by computers.
In this context, Dr.Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf - Chairman of CMA Board of Commissionaires - assured that the efforts of implementing such a project is to enhance transparency by providing a supervisory system to support a competitive and attractive investment environment in the State of Kuwait according to the principles of fairness, transparency, and integrity in line with the best international practice.  
He added that the implementation of the electronic disclosure system by using the XBRL language aims at replacing and developing the current mechanism of exchanging information and statements, which uses paper and manual transactions, with a more efficient system to trade information among concerned parties electronically. This would reduce human efforts and financial costs. Dr. Al-Hajraf also noted that the system will contain all the necessary technical solutions to support disclosure requirements by an integrated portal which provides all the tools and solutions for disclosure operations and dealing with data.
Dr. Al-Hajraf specified that a major study and extensive research was conducted in order for the system to be implemented, along with the preparation of an action plan to execute the project throughout several stages. Earnest and Young Consultation Company – a global consultation office - contributed with the CMA to execute the project, due to its varied experience regionally and globally in project management and similar initiatives with other regulatory bodies locally, regionally and globally. The action plan includes training and awareness programs to raise awareness of the benefits of the program and to train all related parties to deal with the system requirements, as well as highlight the benefits that the system offers to such parties. 
Dr. Al-Hajraf added that the action plan includes the mechanism of meeting the system’s requirements which will be gradual and experimental at the beginning, to have a seamless and complete transition to the new system. Moreover, submission of disclosure requirements will also be gradual as the traders’ awareness increases regarding the characteristics and requirements of the system. The adoption of this methodology in the application would allow testing it through stages, in order to avoid any technical problems.
An invitation will be sent to a certain segment of concerned parties to participate in the system’s demo application process, which will only concentrate in the first phase on the fulfilment of financial statements’ requirements according to the international accounting standards of IFRS.
It is noteworthy that the Capital Markets Authority had announced earlier joining the membership of XBRL organization, as the first regulatory body in the State of Kuwait to join the organization. Such organization sets the standards of XBRL, prepares and issues ratings and determinants of the language as well as developing it with the aim of upgrading and improving the process of disclosure in the financial markets.
 XBRL organization is a global non-profitable organization, which includes nearly 600 members from public and private sectors. Such members collaborate to benefit from and improve the language of the XBRL as a common standard for the language of business. 

Clarification to Editors
The Capital Markets Authority was established pursuant to Law No. 7/2010, approved by the Kuwaiti Parliament in February 2010, and amended by Law No. 108/2014. Pursuant to the Law, the Authority shall regulate and supervise the securities activities, achieve transparency and fairness, observe listed companies’ execution of Corporate Governance Regulations, and protect investors from unfair practices which violate the Authority's Law.
Furthermore, the Law's provisions stipulate the supervision of mergers, acquisitions, and disclosure operations. The Authority also aims to provide awareness programs related to securities activities.
For more information, kindly contact
Public Relations & Media Office
Tel: 22903062
Fax: 22903505
Email: pr-media@kuwaitcma.org