Saudi Arabia to open stock market wider to foreigners on September 4
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With oil prices sagging and the economy slowing, Saudi authorities are keen to attract more foreign capital into the kingdom.
The stock market opened to direct investment by foreign institutions in June last year, but all types of foreign investor still own only 1.03 percent of the $390 billion market.
In May, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced it would ease ownership limits and minimum qualifications for overseas institutions by mid-2017. In a statement on Wednesday, it said the reforms would take effect on September 4.
Among the reforms, each asset manager will only need to have a minimum of $1 billion of assets under management globally to qualify as a foreign institutional investor in Saudi Arabia, instead of the current minimum of $5 billion. ■