Foreign Ownership in Saudi Stock Market Soars to $70bn in 2021

Foreign ownership in Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange hit SR264 billion ($70 billion) last year amid efforts by the Kingdom to spur foreign investment, reported Arab News citing the latest release of the Capital Market Authority’s annual report.

The report said that increased market attractiveness propelled a 54 percent rise in the ownership of qualified foreign investors at the end of 2021 compared to a year earlier. The year also witnessed a higher frequency of listings on the bourse, with a total of 21 listings completed on the Kingdom’s main and parallel markets.

The CMA, it said, aims to list more companies and investment products this year, develop the Sukuk market, and boost attractiveness of the Kingdom’s capital market. It will continue to support digital transformation in financial services, develop infrastructure institutions, and adopt sustainable finance to meet international standards in these areas.