Forbes Middle East held an event to recognize and celebrate achievements of the Kuwaiti companies and business leaders making an impact in Kuwait. The magazine unveiled the top 50 listed companies, top private companies making an impact in Kuwait and the most powerful women in Kuwait.
His Excellency Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Acting Minister of Information graced the event with his presence and delivered a keynote speech on Kuwait’s vision and its plan for 2035.
Speaking at the event he said, “I appreciate the attempt of Forbes Middle East in recognizing the efforts of these business leaders and their continuous persistence in helping put Kuwait on the global map. We are all jointly working towards our vision of New Kuwait and are combining forces to deliver in all areas of development. I am grateful to Dr. Nasser and Forbes Middle East for inviting me to this event and express my gratitude to all the business leaders wishing them luck in their future endeavors. I would like to congratulate all the business leaders and I wish them luck in all their future endeavors.”
Khuloud Al Omian, Editor in Chief, Forbes Middle East, said, “As we continue to encourage business leaders and connect companies with decision makers at such events, we would like to congratulate and thank all the leaders who have successfully contributed to the regional economy and to the development of the country.”
Forbes Middle East, for the second consecutive year, unveiled the Kuwait Guide 2017 which included rankings in three major categories: top 50 listed companies, top 10 private companies making an impact and most powerful women in Kuwait, with ten in business and one minister.
The top 50 listed companies were ranked on four metrics: sales, net profits, assets and market value. Each company received four separate scores based on where it ranked in each metric with specific cutoffs. All the scores were added to reach a composite score and thus rankings were structured. Aggregate sales and profits of all ranked companies were $30 billion and $4.2 billion respectively and they had $267.5 billion in aggregate assets and an aggregate market value of $61 billion. Market value and currency conversions were as of April 6, 2017, while the audited financial statements for 2016 were used.
Of the 50 companies on the list, investments sector dominates with nine entries, followed by banks and real estate with seven each. The largest bank in Kuwait, NBK, topped the list.
Privately held companies are the backbone of major Arab economies. To rank the top 10 companies, data from company websites and documents were collated. A set of measures like number of employees, age of the company, global presence and number of subsidiaries were used for ranking these businesses. Companies from the diversified sector dominated the rankings followed by the retail and investments sector. Mohammed Abdulmohsin Al-Kharafi & Sons Company topped the list.
Women have played an integral role in Kuwait’s economy, with many senior executive roles in local companies being held by them. To rank the top women in Kuwait, size of the company, their positions and sphere of impact were taken into consideration. Among the 11 women ranked, around 10 of them occupy senior leadership roles across various companies and one woman, Hind Subaih Al-Subaih, the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Economic Affairs, represents the government sector.
Forbes Middle East has support from valued partners, including Al Tayyar Travel Group, one of the largest travel and tourism companies in the region as strategic partner; Danube Properties, one of the leading property development companies in the U.A.E as Industry partner; Arab India Spice, a global leader in the pulses and spice industry from the UAE as support partner: Al Anba, one of the oldest Arabic language daily in Kuwait as the exclusive newspaper partner. The event is managed by Tarteeb media.