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This is the third successful Public Relations two-day conference that has been organised in Kuwait and is under the patronage of Kuwait's Minister of Information, Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Hamad Al Sabah.
Stephen Davie said:
"Some half a trillion dollars has been lost from GCC stock market valuations since the start of the global financial crisis last September. Companies in the region need to respond, first, by recognising that this is not business as usual and, secondly, by staying close to shareholders, analysts and of course employees. A financial crisis can impact a firms business in hours, hitting the share price and panicking investors, and often the crisis is over exaggerated or could have been contained."
Kuwait's bourse is the region's second biggest stock market which lost nearly a third of its value by the end of 2008. Many investors had tried to halt stock market transactions after the KSE witnessed a major drop in share values in early 2009. Share value is predominantly an indication of investor expectations of future earnings potential and the sharp drop in share prices in the first quarter of 2009 was indicative of an overall decline in investor confidence.
"Confidence needs to be restored and expectations must be managed. A clear and transparent investor relations strategy is crucial to achieving this," Stephen Davie concluded.
Stephen Davie is Hill & Knowlton's Regional Director responsible for financial and corporate communications for the Northern Gulf focused on Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Hill & Knowlton Inc. is a leading international communications consultancy, providing services to local, multinational and global clients. The firm is headquartered in New York, with 73 offices in 41 countries, as well as an extensive associate network. The agency is part of WPP, one of the world's largest communications services groups.
Posted by Siba Sami Ammari
