Tadawul foreign ownership rises slightly after market opening

At least seven firms listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) have witnessed a slight increase in shares owned by qualified foreign investors (QFIs), according to data compiled by Argaam.

QFIs bought the most shares in Saudi International Petrochemical Co. (Sipchem), as foreign ownership of its shares rose to 0.02 percent. Six other companies including Bupa Arabia, Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Co., and Dallah Healthcare each saw an increase of 0.01 percent.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia’s $566 billion stock market opened to QFIs, granting them direct access to 164 Tadawul-listed firms.

Under the new rules introduced by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) in May, a single foreign investor can own up to five percent of a listed company, while a ceiling of 20 percent has been set for all QFIs in any one stock.

All in all, QFIs are permitted to hold only 10 percent of the Saudi market’s total value.