Corporate Governance Of Listed Companies In Kuwait A Comparative Study With United Kingdom Saudi And Qatar Codes Link [exclusive] <OFFICIAL | 2026>

: Kuwait’s Corporate Governance Code (KCCG 2015) , which is Module 15 of the Capital Market Authority's Executive Bylaws, adopted a mixed approach. This was inspired by the UK Corporate Governance Code , allowing flexibility rather than a strictly binding mandate.

| Attribute | Kuwait | United Kingdom | Saudi Arabia | Qatar | |---|---:|---:|---:|---:| | Legal/regulator | CMA & Companies Law | FRC, Companies Act, FCA | CMA KSA & Companies Law | QFMA & Companies Law | | Code approach | Principles / "comply or explain" | Principles / "comply or explain" | Regulatory rules with codes | Principles / rules | | Independent directors | Required/minimums, variable practice | Strong emphasis, clear thresholds | Increasing requirements | Required, variable practice | | Mandatory committees | Audit, nomination, remuneration (recommended) | Audit, nomination, remuneration (expected) | Audit & risk committees emphasized | Audit, nomination, remuneration (expected) | | Disclosure rigour | Moderate, improving | High | Improving rapidly | Moderate, improving | | Enforcement | Developing | Strong | Strengthening | Developing | : Kuwait’s Corporate Governance Code (KCCG 2015) ,

While robust on paper, challenges remain in the practical enforcement of "independence" definitions, where directors with historical ties to the company may still be classified as independent. | Feature | Kuwait | United Kingdom |

For the international investor, the link between these four codes is a spectrum of trust. The UK sits at the top (high trust, low friction). Kuwait sits at the bottom—not because its written code is bad, but because the culture of compliance is weak.

Enforcement: The UK relies heavily on market pressure and institutional investors to enforce codes. In Kuwait, the CMA takes a more interventionist regulatory role, frequently issuing fines for non-compliance.