Tadawul foreign investors reach 850 and are growing: chairman

The number of qualified foreign investors (QFIs) in the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) is increasing rapidly, according to Sarah Al-Suhaimi, chair of the exchange.

Speaking at a panel discussion at the first "Financial Sector Conference" (FSC) in Riyadh on Wednesday, Al-Suhaimi said: “Less than two years ago, we only had 70 or less [QFIs]. In January, we reached 500 and today we have above 850.”

She said the Saudi Stock Exchange had demonstrated many structural changes and regulations to be included in the emerging market (EM) indices, which is important to attract foreign investment.

“The inclusion in EM indices is a very important step for Saudi Arabia. We are the largest economy in the Middle East and the largest stock market in the Middle East in terms of liquidity or market cap," she added.

Al-Suhaimi further stated that Tadawul achieved MSCI EM status in record time, after being put on the watch list to EM index inclusion, which was one year. 

Write to Parag Deulgaonkar at parag.d@argaamplus.com