Eighteen candidates have so far turned down the offer to head Kuwait's new stock market regulator, but the government hopes to fill the post soon, the prime minister said in published remarks on Thursday.

The Gulf state's parliament approved in February a much-delayed bill to set up a watchdog for the bourse that has been plagued with irregularities in prices and disclosure.

The appointment of the chief should have taken place in May, according to the law. However, analysts have said the stringent conditions for the job have made difficult to fill.

They include a five year ban on all investments for the head and his family members.
"Let me tell you something, many among those whom I have called have declined and we have reached number 18, but we will make a choice soon," al-Rai daily quoted Prime Minister Sheik Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah as saying.

The remarks made in a Wednesday meeting with editors of local newspapers were also carried by other dailies.

The regulator is seen as a major step in reforming the state-dominated economy of the Opec member that plans to become a regional financial centre.

The prime minister said many of the candidates declined because "they had interests they cannot give up managing," but the government would not "rush" to fill the post.

The authority of the second-largest Arab bourse will oversee initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and will have the power to impose fines and prison sentences, through a special court, of up to five years for violators.-Reuters