Tadawul’s MSCI inclusion could lead to inflows of $40 bln

The Saudi Stock Exchange's inclusion in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index could lead to FDI inflows of $40 billion in the Kingdom’s capital market, according to a senior Franklin Templeton executive.

"The Kingdom’s capital market is larger than some of the bigger emerging markets such as Russia and has strongly positive impact on the UAE and other GCC market economies. The 2.6 percent [weight] of MSCI Benchmark Index for the Kingdom is a game-changer," Salah Shamma, head of investment, MENA Equity, Franklin Templeton UAE, told a summit in Dubai on Thursday.

In June, Tadawul was upgraded to emerging market from its previous standalone market status by MSCI.

In February, Tariq Bin Hendi, acting chief investment officer at Emirates NBD told Argaam that the inclusion could lead to inflows of approximately $4 billion per month.

In addition, Riyad Capital has projected foreign capital inflows in the range of SAR 75 billion and SAR 100 billion.