Saudi capital market attracts SAR 135 bln foreign inflows since 2019: ElKuwaiz

Mohammed ElKuwaiz, Chairman, Capital Market Authority

Foreign inflows in Saudi capital market reached nearly SAR 135 billion from 2019 to date despite being in an early stage, according to Mohammed ElKuwaiz, Chairman, Capital Market Authority (CMA).

During his participation in the second session of the financial stability, entitled "Financial Stability in the Banking Sector and Capital Markets", he stressed that opening the market for foreign investment supports diversification of funding sources for listed companies.

A total of six companies out of 10 largest companies in terms of market capitalization are preparing sustainability reports even though they are not obligated to announce them, he highlighted.

On the other hand, ElKuwaiz indicated that Saudi Arabia is working to issue a market-making system to boost the institutional investor's effectiveness in trading, not equity.  

CMA does not aim to maximize the institutional investor’s turnover over the individual investor, but the goal is to improve the market’s depth through diversifying trading, he stated. 

Turnover of institutional investors, comprising all non-individual investors, doubled, ElKuwaiz added.