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The Capital Market Authority approved regulatory changes that remove the qualified foreign investor concept for the main market, the regulator said in its January 6 announcement. The amendments allow non-resident foreign investors to invest directly in listed securities on the Tadawul without previous qualification criteria such as minimum assets under management. According to the CMA, the decision follows board approval of a framework designed to broaden participation in the market.
International investors’ ownership in the Saudi capital market surpassed 590 billion Saudi riyals by the end of the third quarter of 2025, CMA figures show, while holdings in the main market reached 519 billion riyals compared with 498 billion riyals at the close of 2024. Saudi Tadawul Group data placed the number of qualified foreign investors at more than 4,000 by the end of 2024, before the latest liberalisation. The regulator expects the changes to draw additional international capital and improve overall market liquidity.
The move comes six months after the July 2025 decision to permit Gulf Cooperation Council residents to invest directly in the main Tadawul market, the CMA reported. The new rules also enable individual foreign investors who formerly lived in Saudi Arabia or other GCC countries to retain their listed equity investments after residency expires. Prior to July, GCC residents had been limited to the debt market, the Nomu parallel market, investment funds and derivatives.
These steps form part of the Vision 2030 programme launched in 2016 to reduce oil dependence and grow the private sector, according to the Vision 2030 Annual Report 2025. That report placed foreign direct investment at 2.8 percent of GDP in the first half of 2025, against a 5.7 percent target for 2030. The kingdom has enacted new companies and civil transactions laws in recent years to strengthen the investment environment.
Saudi Arabia’s economy is forecast to grow 4 percent this year, matching International Monetary Fund projections driven by non-oil activity tied to the reform agenda. The National Debt Management Centre announced an $11.5 billion four-tranche dollar bond sale, the first of 2026, to finance diversification projects in infrastructure, real estate and tourism. Such issuances support the broader effort to develop non-oil revenue streams.
The Tadawul All-Share Index rose 5.1 percent on September 24, 2025, in its largest single-day gain in more than five years following reports of planned ownership liberalisation, according to EFG Hermes estimates. Saudi Exchange data placed market capitalisation at roughly 8.8 trillion Saudi riyals at the end of 2025, confirming its position as the largest bourse in the Middle East. The CMA stated that the amendments align with a gradual opening strategy and position the market to attract greater foreign capital flows.
