Foreign Ownership of Saudi Stocks (ex-Aramco) Dips to 11.29%

Non-institutional foreign investors trimmed their holdings of Saudi-listed equities excluding Aramco last week, with ownership slipping to 11.29% from 11.32% in the prior period, according to data from the Saudi Exchange. The value of those holdings stood at SAR 357.07 billion.

The 0.03 percentage-point decline is a marginal move, within the range of typical weekly fluctuations. The metric excludes Saudi Aramco's shares to avoid the distorting effect of the oil giant's massive market capitalisation. Aramco alone accounts for roughly 60% of Tadawul's market cap, so including it would mask trends in the rest of the market.

Non-institutional foreign investors include individual overseas investors, family offices, and smaller funds that do not meet the threshold for institutional classification. Their combined stake has been gradually rising over the past several years as Saudi Arabia deepens capital-market reforms.

Saudi Arabia opened its stock market to direct foreign investment in 2015. Since then, foreign ownership has increased, helped by inclusion in MSCI and FTSE emerging-market indexes. The latest reading of 11.29% is little changed from 11.32% a week earlier.

The Saudi Exchange's weekly report separates institutional foreign ownership, which accounts for the bulk of foreign holdings. Non-institutional flows tend to be more variable.

The data is released weekly by the Saudi Exchange. The next weekly update is expected early next week.