Saudi market cross-listing regulations expected in Q2

Regulations to allow companies from other Gulf countries to list on Saudi Arabia’s stock market are expected to be finalised in the second quarter of this year, the chief executive of the Saudi bourse, Tadawul, said on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority and Tadawul are working with potential investors in the Gulf countries on the new cross-listing rules, Khalid Al Hussan, chief executive officer of Tadawul told a news conference.

He said there was good interest from companies in the Gulf region to list on the Saudi market.

Bahraini financial services firm GFH expressed an interest in listing on the Saudi market last year and hired Gulf International Bank to help in the process.

Many potential candidates for IPOs in the kingdom are also looking at dual listings and at issuing global depository receipts (GDRs), bankers say.

There is growing interest from foreign investors in the Saudi market ahead of its inclusion in the FTSE Russell and MSCI’s emerging market indexes later this year.

Nasdaq Dubai on Tuesday launched futures trading based on FTSE Russell’s Saudi Arabia equity indexes, which tracks 46 Saudi companies.

The Saudi market opened to foreign investors for the first time in 2015.