31 July 2016
RIYADH -- The Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) Board of Commissioners approved 7 regulations and policies pertaining to the roles and responsibilities of CMA's Board and its committees. These regulations and policies are designed to improve the regulatory and supervisory performance of the authority, increasing the level of efficiency in decisions making and leveraging on commissioners' experience in the CMA's main responsibilities including dealing with internal and external risks, policy development, identify and develop strategies and performance monitoring tools, increase participation in international affairs, and effective communication with external stakeholders.

The CMA Board of Commissioners' implementation of the governance regulations seeks to enhance best practices in corporate governance, with the goal of improving the performance of the Authority in its regulatory and supervisory roles. These approved regulations are The Board of Regulations, The Executive Committee Regulations, The E-Transactions Committee Regulation, The Management Committee Regulations, The Audit Regulations, The Human Resource Development Regulations, and The Authorization of Power Policy. As part of its continuous efforts to increase the level of transparency in the market, CMA has published the approved and updated regulations on its official website www.cma.org.sa.

The adoption of the Board Regulation is to govern the framework of the Board of Commissioners and its authority in line with the Capital Market Law. The framework defines the way the board functions, including its composition, roles, responsibilities and delegation of authority; as well as the tasks pertaining to the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Commissioners, and the Secretary General of the Board. Regulations of the committees stems from the board's roles, responsibility and composition, in addition to the mechanisms of decision-making and implementation follow-up.

While the aim of the Authorization of Power Policy is to increase the level of efficiency in the decision-making process, by delegating authority to the appropriate supervisory functions, activating the role of the executive management, which allows the board to focus on the Authority's strategy and supervise its implementation, including the management of internal and external risks, human capital development, and to communicating with stakeholders.

This step is part CMA's internal development plan as per its organizational structure to be pursuant with internal and external changes in the regulatory, development, and legislative environment. Furthermore, it is compatible with CMA's Strategic Plan, and the newly introduced Companies Law which grants CMA wider powers to regulate listed companies and transfer some duties as per the Capital Market Law to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) and the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution.

© The Saudi Gazette 2016