CMA to welcome foreign listings on Tadawul soon, El-Kuwaiz

Saudi Arabia plans to approve foreign companies listing on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) soon, as the Kingdom aims to become a regional hub for stock trading, Reuters reported citing Mohammed bin Abdullah El-Kuwaiz, Vice Chairman of the Capital Market Authority (CMA).

The market regulator has approached a number of foreign firms to choose one or two companies by the end of this year to conduct a trial-listing within the next 6-12 months, which would help set up a detailed guide for more companies, he said.

This comes as part of Saudi’s Vision 2030 that aims to diversify the country’s income sources and strengthen the economy.

Saudi Arabia is an attractive market with a market capitalization of $435 billion, which is the equivalent of all Gulf markets combined, Elkuwaiz said.

The CMA will soon allow foreign companies to list on Nomu Parallel Market without having to obtain a foreign investor license, he said, adding that more than 20 national companies signed advisors’ agreements to consider listing their stocks on Nomu.

As for issuing bonds or sukuk, CMA is reviewing its regulations and is expected to see a boost in this regard.

Recently, CMA has awarded Citigroup a license to conduct capital markets business in the Kingdom, as the company looks to capitalize on Saudi Arabia’s financial reforms, Argaam reported earlier.