Saudi Arabia to open financial market to all foreign investors next month 

Reuters

Tue, January 6, 2026 astatine 8:38 AM CST 1 min read

DUBAI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia plans to unfastened its fiscal markets to each overseas investors ​from February 1, the Gulf country's marketplace regulator ‌said connected Tuesday, arsenic it eases rules to pull much wealth from ‌abroad.

The amendments approved by the Capital Markets Authority destruct the conception of the Qualified Foreign Investor, scrapping a regularisation that allowed lone planetary investors with nonstop and accordant ⁠access to the Saudi ‌capital market.

The determination volition let investors from astir the satellite to put straight successful ‍the superior market, the CMA said successful a statement, adding it would enactment inflows and amended marketplace liquidity.

Saudi Arabia, which is ​more than halfway done an economical program to trim ‌its dependence connected oil, has been trying to pull overseas investors, including by establishing exchange-traded funds with Asian partners successful Japan and Hong Kong.

Regulators past twelvemonth besides opened the doorway for foreigners to bargain listed firms that ⁠own existent property successful Mecca ​and Medina, without changing restrictions connected ​direct onshore ownership, and Saudi stocks jumped successful September pursuing a study that the CMA whitethorn ‍ease rules ⁠capping overseas ownership of listed companies.

International investors held 590 cardinal riyals ($157 billion) successful the Saudi superior marketplace ⁠at the extremity of the 3rd 4th past year, the CMA ‌said.

($1 = 3.7504 riyals)

(Reporting by Federico Maccioni and Ahmed ‌Elimam. Editing by Mark Potter)