The Saudi Stock Market, also known as the Tadawul All-Share Index or TASI, will open up to foreign investment to money managers outside the GCC for the first time, Bloomberg reports citing the official Saudi Press Agency.
“The oil-rich kingdom’s cabinet authorized the Capital Market Authority to allow overseas financial institutions to buy and sell shares in the Tadawul All Share Index (SASEIDX), according to the official news agency, SPA. The market regulator will determine the timing and manner of implementation, SPA said.”
As Ahmed Al Omran of the Wall Street Journal notes, “The kingdom is among the last of the big markets globally to limit international access, but was expected to lower or remove such restrictions as it rolls out plans to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in the domestic economy to build infrastructure and provide employment for its people.”
In a comment to BBC News, Rami Sidani, head of Middle East investments at fund manager Schroders, commented that this is, “a massive move for Saudi and for the region,” and the country would “definitely attract massive inflows” as a result of the move.
Sebastien Lieblich, executive director in the index research team at MSCI, cautioned that MSCI would wait for the changes to be implemented before consulting investors, with a decision as to whether to include it as emerging market unlikely to be made before June 2015.
