Saudi to Open IPOs, Stocks for Foreigners |
|
Share With Members!
JEDDAH, 10 December 2007 -- Abdul Rahman Al-Tuwaijri, chairman of the Capital Market AuthorityCapital Market Authority
, has said that Saudi Arabia will soon allow foreigners to invest in its stocks and initial public offerings (IPOs). Al-Tuwaijri said in an interview with Al-Arabiya television that the CMACMA would allow investment through domestic funds which will be established by licensed firms.
SABB chief economist Dr. John Sfakianakis said, "This is an excellent step in line with the commitments of the Kingdom toward liberalizing its economy. The partial liberalization of the capital market is an essential component of the economy."
He added, "Markets which are the biggest in the Middle East have been expecting such a step forward. The opening up of the Saudi market will generate positive momentum for the rest of the region. Everyone in the region will benefit from the partial opening up of the Saudi market."
Snehdeep Fulzele, head of research at the Riyadh-based Falcom Financial Services, said, "The statement by the CMACMA chief is progressive and a welcome step in the right direction."
He added, "There is considerable interest from outside investors to invest in Saudi Arabian equities for two main reasons --- diversification of portfolios and exposure to quality companies. Allowing foreigners to invest in IPOs through the funds will enable the CMACMA to monitor the flow of funds and judge the extent of hot money."
The stock market, however, reacted negatively after Al-Tuwaijri's announcement. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI), which passed the 10,000-point mark and closed at 10,108.55 on Saturday, dropped 76.85 points to 10,031.71 yesterday. The index is higher by 26.45 points so far this year after falling over 52 percent in 2006.
The stock market turnover was SR12 billion yesterday compared to SR15.27 billion on Saturday. Shares of Middle East Specialized Cables Co., which started trading for the first time on Saturday, declined 6.19 percent to SR83.75 yesterday.
Shares of Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC), which signed three contracts worth SR3.8 billion for the expansion of its Rabigh plant on Saturday, fell 1.72 percent to SR14.25 yesterday.
In the telecom sector, shares of Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) and Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) edged lower by 2.25 percent and 0.35 percent, respectively.
The Saudi Cabinet also approved recently the board of directors of the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) for a three-year term.
Khalil Hanware
© Arab News 2007
Zawya is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and subscribers. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by those third parties, including information providers, subscribers or other users of the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of the Company. The Company neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Service by anyone other than authorized Service employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. The Company is not responsible for any infringement of intellectual property rights or breach of any applicable law or regulation, including regulation in relation to financial services or the distribution of financial products, defamation, data protection, telecommunications (including regulations relating to excessive use, spamming or other abusive activities) or obscene, offensive or illegal content). Under no circumstances will the Company be liable for any loss or damage caused by a member's reliance on information obtained through the Service. It is the responsibility of member to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Service. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.
Read the full Member Agreement
http://www.zawya.com/legal/NewsLetter.cfm?name=disclaimer
Comment on this article 
Loading ...-
Zawya encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You agree that when you add content to this discussion your comments will not:
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse. - The content posted on www.zawya.com is created by members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Zawya. Zawya reserves the right to review all comments prior to posting and edit or delete any contribution, but Zawya is not responsible for and can not be held liable for any content posted by members of the public on www.zawya.com.
- Zawya is not responsible for the availability or content of any third party sites that are accessible through www.zawya.com. Any links to third party websites from www.zawya.com do not amount to any endorsement of that site by Zawya and any use of that site by you is at your own risk.
- By submitting your comment, you hereby give Zawya the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comments worldwide, in perpetuity.
Stories
Companies
| Company Name | Country | Industry |
| Consolidated Contractors Company | Overseas | Construction and Design |
| Zuhair Fayez Partnership Consultants | Saudi Arabia | Construction and Design |
| Saudi Binladin Group | Saudi Arabia | Construction and Design |
| Saudi Electricity Company | Saudi Arabia | Electric Utilities |
| Roads and Transport Authority - Dubai | UAE | Regulatory and Administrative Bodies |
| Barwa Real Estate Company | Qatar | Landlords and Developers |
| Mubadala Development Company | UAE | Investment Firms and Funds |
| Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company | UAE | Oil |
| Ministry of Health - Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | Ministries and Municipalities |
| Dubai Electricity and Water Authority | UAE | Electric Utilities |
Projects
| Project Name | Country | Sector |
| ENEC - Nuclear Power Plant | UAE | Power and Water |
| Abu Dhabi DOT - Abu Dhabi Metro | UAE | Infrastructure |
| Takreer - Ruwais Refinery Expansion | UAE | Oil and Gas |
| Abu Dhabi Ports Company - Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone (KPIZ) | UAE | Infrastructure |
| Aramco/Dow Chemical - Ras Tanura Integrated Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex | Saudi Arabia | Oil and Gas |
| SATORP - Jubail Refinery and Petrochemical Complex | Saudi Arabia | Oil and Gas |
| Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) - Smelter Complex - Phase 1 | UAE | Industry |
| Dubai Racing Club - Meydan City - Meydan Racecourse | UAE | Real Estate |
| Dubai RTA - Dubai Metro | UAE | Infrastructure |
| IGD - Gasco - Habshan 5 Gas Processing Plant | UAE | Oil and Gas |
Blogs
IPO Monitor
