The Saudi Exchange Company has launched single stock options (SSOs), a futures trading contract, for Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Maaden).

The SSOs will be available from April 21, 2024 and will be cleared by the Securities Clearing Center Co. (Muqassa), the exchange said in a statement on Thursday.

SSO is a derivatives contract that allows investors to buy or sell a stock at a fixed priced on a future date.

Tadawul launched SSO contracts in November 2023, with the first batch of SSOs having the stocks of Aramco, Al Rajhi Bank, Saudi Telecommunication Company (STC), and SABIC as underlying assets.

The launch of single-stock futures trading came as part of Saudi Arabia's moves to reform the exchange to attract foreign investors and issuers as part of the kingdom's broader plans to diversify the oil-dependent economy.

(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Daniel Luiz)

brinda.darasha@lseg.com