Saudi Arabia to open up its stock exchange to foreign investors
Saudi Arabia will unleash its financial markets next month, scrapping regulatory barriers that have barred most foreigners from investing in the kingdom’s stock exchange.
The Capital Markets Authority said on Monday that it will eliminate its “Qualified Foreign Investor” regulations starting Feb. 1, allowing non-Saudis direct access to the $2.3 trillion stock exchange in Riyadh as part of efforts to boost global capital inflows and market liquidity.
Officials described the move as a key piece of broader economic reforms designed to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy away from its historic reliance on the kingdom’s vast oil revenue. Until now, foreign investors had to show they had at least $500 million in assets under management to trade in Riyadh.
The change comes after the Saudi exchange’s Tadawul All Shares Index delivered its worst performance in 10 years, dropping 13% in 2025. Already, the kingdom has courted international money through partnerships, including exchange-traded funds with Japan and Hong Kong.
The Saudi government, meanwhile, is expected to announce new reforms in the real estate market this month that would make it easier for non-Saudis to buy homes, commercial properties and agricultural land, particularly in Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca and Medina.
Institutional investors such as JP Morgan said the new rules on equities would have limited impactsince they already have access to the stock market, and holdings by smaller investors will be slow to reach a significant share, Reuters reports. More significant, they say, would be reforms that include raising foreign ownership limits for publicly traded companies that are expected later in the year.
ADNOC clinches $17B Covestro deal after regulatory battle
Coming out on top after more than a year of scrutiny by European regulators, ADNOC has secured a 95% stake in Germany’s Covestro, completing the largest acquisition in the UAE energy firm’s history and deepening its push into chemicals.
The deal values the specialty materials maker at roughly $17 billion, and gives ADNOC control through its investment arm XRG and affiliated holding companies, Covestro said in a report to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
Covestro produces polymers and advanced materials used in the automotive, construction and electronics industries. The acquisition strengthens Adnoc’s strategy to diversify beyond oil and gas, and build a global chemicals portfolio.
The transaction cleared 14 months of regulatory probes in Europe, including review under the European Union’s foreign subsidies rules. Germany’s Economic Ministry gave the deal its final approval on Nov. 5.
Covestro said earlier that upon closing of the deal, the company would proceed with a $1.4 billion capital increase for strategic investment and further execution of its sustainability program.
Oman eyes tourism, tech as it seeks emerging market status
Oman’s Muscat Stock Exchange is preparing for up to three IPOs in 2026 as part of efforts to boost listings and pursue emerging market status.
Working with the Oman Investment Authority, the bourse aims to bring new sectors like tourism and information technology to market, with companies such as Oman India Fertiliser considering IPOs.
Fundraising has slowed this year after a record $2.5 billion in 2023, but the government is offering incentives such as tax waivers and priority in tenders to attract private firms, the exchange’s CEO, Haitham Al Salmi, told Bloomberg.
The planned merger of Oman’s Sohar International Bank and Ahli Bank is seen as crucial to market capitalization, though the exchange is also exploring consolidation or group listings as alternatives.
“We understand how important this merger is, but we also have Plan B and C,” Al Salmi said.
Talabat drops in Dubai after Gulf’s largest IPO of the year
Talabat Holding, which staged the Gulf’s largest IPO of the year, made its trading debut on the Dubai Financial Market stock exchange with a 6.9% drop in its shares.|
The MENA delivery service’s decline on Tuesday was followed with a 12% plunge by its parent company Delivery Hero in Frankfurt.
Talabat raised $2 billion last week in the initial sale of a 20% stake in the popular motorcycle-driven food delivery company.
The Gulf has been one of the busiest regions for IPOs in 2024, with recent share sales by Saudi Arabia’s United International Holding Co., UAE-based Lulu Retail Holdings and Oman’s OQ Exploration & Production.
Dubai’s stock exchange to launch new private credit platform
Dubai’s stock exchange is introducing a new platform called “The Arena” that allows companies to tap into the growing global market for private credit and gives venture capital firms the ability to sell shares in startups they own.
Using technology developed for Nasdaq, the Dubai Financial Market’s latest project targets family conglomerates, VC funds, and small and medium-sized enterprises, the exchange said in a statement on Wednesday.
Companies raising money through The Arena will have the ability to impose access limitations, such as restricting sales to institutional investors, employees or family members.
“Arena is designed to facilitate seamless processes, including due diligence, book building, brokered trades, and settlement, fundamentally reshaping the landscape of investment accessibility and efficiency,” DFM CEO Hamed Ali said.
Dubai’s Parkin IPO surges amid Gulf privatization push
As of this morning, Dubai has IPO’d six out of the 10 government entities it plans to take private as the emirate looks to boost trading volumes on its stock exchange and join the capital markets action picking up speed in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.
The Dubai public parking company, Parkin, debuted on the DFM today with a 31% surge in its stock price. Parkin’s $429 million IPO was 165 times covered and attracted $71 billion in orders – a record for Dubai. The company pitched to shareholders a growth story on the back of Dubai’s population boom: it forecasts demand for public parking to grow by 60% by 2033, Bloomberg reports.
Strong post-listing performance is becoming a signature of the region’s companies – returning an average of 40% to investors – and spurring international interest in IPOs here. Strong investor demand has been bolstered by government reforms, particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, amid a privatization push.
Nearly 30 IPOs are expected in the Gulf this year. Two of the region’s biggest grocers are in line: Lulu Group is reportedly eyeing a $1 billion dual listing in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. Spinneys Dubai, the franchisee of the supermarket chain in the UAE and Oman, is also expected to go public in 2024. No word yet on what the Dubai government may sell off next.
Saudi Arabia promotes Tadawul market’s strength amid IPO boom
Saudi Arabia is touting the strength of its stock exchange as the Saudi Capital Markets Forum gets underway today in Riyadh. The two-day forum is being hosted by the Saudi Tadawul Group, the parent company of the kingdom’s main stock exchange that goes by the same name, which had a market cap of $2.9 trillion at the end of January.
The kingdom has sought to attract foreign investment through its capital markets by implementing reforms, aligning regulatory frameworks with international standards and gaining inclusion in major global indices while at the same time pursuing investor outreach and investing in technology and infrastructure, according to Saudi Tadawul Group CEO Khalid Al-Hussan.
The hard work appears to be paying off. IPOs in Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been booming since late 2021. The total number of shares traded on the Saudi exchange exceeded 8 billion in January, an almost fourfold increase from the prior January, according to data published by the exchange.
“Momentum is great, and all the indications so far for 2024 are excellent,” SNB Capital’s Head of Investment Banking Zaid Ghoul said in an interview with Bloomberg, highlighting a surge in share trading in recent months. The level of activity is encouraging more firms to prepare for IPOs, Ghoul said.
The Saudi Tadawul is also looking beyond capital markets. Last month, it announced plans to buy a 33% stake in the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, bolstering its position in global commodities markets. Once the deal closes, Saudi Tadawul will become the largest shareholder next to the CME Group and the exchange will be rebranded as the Gulf Mercantile Exchange.
Thinking shorter term: Most major stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trading today after data showed U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in January, adding to concerns over inflation and dampening hopes for early rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, Reuters reports. Most GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, peg their currencies to the U.S. dollar and follow the Fed’s policy moves closely.
