Saudi exchange attracted over $130B in foreign investments over decade

Nayef Al Athel, chief sales and marketing officer at Saudi Tadawul Group, told a conference that the local capital market has pulled in more than $130 billion in foreign investments over the last decade.

The figure covers both direct and portfolio inflows, he said. Saudi Arabia has been relaxing rules around foreign ownership since 2015, opening its stock exchange to qualified foreign investors and later raising the cap for strategic stakes.

The inflows accelerated after MSCI added Saudi stocks to its emerging markets index in 2019, which forced passive funds to allocate. Tadawul's weighting in the MSCI EM index has since grown, drawing more passive money.

Al Athel did not break down annual figures but said the cumulative total shows the market's depth has improved. The Tadawul All Share Index, the main gauge for Saudi stocks, now has a foreign ownership component that has grown steadily.

Tadawul Group operates the Saudi Stock Exchange, the biggest in the Middle East by market capitalization. It also runs the securities depository center and a clearing house. The $130 billion mark comes as the kingdom pushes its Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy away from oil. The exchange has been a major channel for foreign money into energy and financials.