Saudi Arabia offers size in drive to list shares of foreign companies

Riyadh

SAUDI Arabia aims to start listing foreign companies on its stock market as soon as this year as it seeks to become a regional centre for equity issuance, said Mohammed Abdullah Elkuwaiz, vice-chairman of the Capital Market Authority (CMA).

The plan shows the wide scope of the kingdom's drive to diversify its economy beyond hydrocarbon exports as oil prices slump. For the last couple of years, the regulator has focused on opening the market to foreign investors, on the grounds that their involvement would make Saudi companies more efficient.