The Capital Markets Authority announced the cancellation of the listing of shares for Sultan Center for Food products Company on the Boursa Kuwait, a step that reflects the authority's seriousness in protecting investor rights and enhancing the principles of transparency and fairness in the market.
The decision issued by the Board of Commissioners during its 13th meeting for 2025 came after the company failed to rectify its financial situation, specifically ignoring the authority's remarks regarding investment in an associated company and not exercising due diligence to ensure the integrity and fairness of financial statements, which threatens to jeopardize shareholder rights.
This bold step coincides with the case that Al-Anbaa has been advocating with insistence and high professional responsibility, as the newspaper has sounded the alarm for months to protect shareholders’ rights from being lost.
However, the company persisted in the same approach without substantial remedy, necessitating firm intervention from regulatory bodies to put an end to the violations and safeguard investors' assets.
In a press statement released yesterday titled "Cancellation of the Listing of Shares of Sultan Center for Food products Company (K.S.C. Closed) on the Boursa Kuwait," the Capital Markets Authority stated that in its ongoing efforts to protect the investing public from potential harms that the security may face due to actions or behaviors that violate Law No. 7 of 2010 regarding the establishment of the Capital Markets Authority and the regulation of securities activities and its executive regulations and amendments, and affirming its commitment to applying the provisions of the aforementioned law and its executive regulations, the Board of Commissioners of the Capital Markets Authority issued the following decision in its 13th meeting for 2025, held on May 14, 2025:
The authority emphasized in its statement that it continues its supervisory role in protecting the investing public, which would also create a financial market characterized by fairness, competitiveness, and transparency, in addition to reducing the typical risks expected to occur in securities activities, as well as ensuring compliance with the laws and regulations related to securities activities.
In a similar disclosure, the Boursa Kuwait announced the cancellation of the listing of shares of Sultan Center for Food products Company (M Sultan) effective Sunday, May 18, 2025, based on the decision of the Board of Commissioners of the Capital Markets Authority.
Auditor Reservations
The auditor's report for the financial year ending December 31, 2024, published on the Boursa Kuwait website, revealed significant doubts regarding the ability of Sultan Center for Food products Company to continue its operations.
The reports and financial statements, along with the observations noted by the auditor, include the following:
The auditor's reservation concerning the consolidated financial statements of the company for the financial year ending December 31, 2024, especially regarding the reservations related to the investment in an associated company.
Sultan Center has not conducted a review of the book value of National Real Estate Company to determine the existence of any decrease in its book value during the past period.
The consolidated financial statements of the associated company Agility included investment properties amounting to 281.42 million dinars, which include properties leased by the Public Authority for Industry.
The lease contracts for these properties amounted to 259.48 million dinars as of the date of the consolidated financial statements, while the lease contracts for the properties amounted to 223.25 million dinars, which are currently subject to legal dispute.
The Public Authority for Industry notified Agility on January 18, 2023, of its decision not to renew or extend the contracts and requested the evacuation of these properties.
The group's current liabilities exceeded its current assets by 64.68 million dinars, indicating significant doubts about the group's ability to achieve continuity, with total current liabilities amounting to 94.46 million dinars compared to total current assets of KWD 29.78 million.
The total liabilities amounted to KWD 241.7 million at the end of December 2024, while total assets reached KWD 286.8 million.
The associated company Agility is involved in several legal cases, and the outcome of these cases cannot be determined at this time. No provisions have been made concerning the potential impacts on the consolidated financial statements of the associated company.
The company incurred losses of KWD 4.26 million during the financial year ending December 31, 2024.