DUBAI- Saudi Tadawul Group, the owner and operator of the country's stock market, said its net profit rose 227% in 2020 from a year earlier, while revenue more than doubled with a boost from trading commissions.

It posted a profit after zakat or Islamic tax of 500.5 million riyals ($133.46 million), it said in a statement.

Unlisted Tadawul gave a peak of its earnings ahead of a planned initial public offering later this year that will allow it to expand and strengthen its position globally. 

Saudi Arabia's stock exchange has converted itself into a holding company ahead of the listing.

Tadawul is the ninth largest exchange in the world in terms of market capitalization which stood at around $2.6 trillion, partly boosted by the listing oil giant Saudi Aramco in 2019. ($1 = 3.7501 riyals)

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh. Editing by Jane Merriman and Elaine Hardcastle) ((Hadeel.AlSayegh@thomsonreuters.com; +971566883310;))