https://arab.news/n62jm
RIYADH: The value of the Saudi financial market has surged 476 percent over the past five years as it hit SR9.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion), revealed a top official of the Capital Market Authority.
While the Saudi financial market ranked ninth among the largest stock exchanges in the world for value by the end of 2022, it managed to secure fourth place among the G20 countries by the end of the year, according to CMA’s Strategy & International Affairs Deputy Yazid bin Saleh Al-Damiji.
He added that the Saudi financial market has witnessed growth in recent years as the number of listed companies increased from 188 firms at the end of 2017 to reach 269 towards the end of 2022.
The authority has sought to develop and elevate the Saudi financial market by working on mechanisms and regulations that contributed to enhancing the performance of several firms as well as sectors.
This contributed to increasing the number of initial offerings for public subscription and direct listing in the main and parallel market during 2022, helping the total number to reach 56, compared to just 34 back in 2021.
“The main market witnessed an increase in foreign investments, achieving historical levels of up to 388 percent, as it increased from SR71 billion in 2017 to SR 347 billion by the end of 2022, and the value of ownership of foreign investors continued to increase,” Al-Damiji explained.
“The rise to reach 14.2 percent of the free float shares in the main market at the end of last year 2022, compared to 12.8 percent at the end of 2020,” he added.
The focus on the financial technology sector — fintech — is among the main developments that characterized the growing level of maturity enjoyed by the Saudi financial market, according to the Strategy & International Affairs Deputy at the CMA.
By the end of 2022, the number of fintech permits in the Kingdom jumped to 29, reflecting an increase of 262.5 percent compared to the total permitted back in 2020.
“In Saudi Arabia, we have witnessed rapid growth in the past five years from roughly zero to 150 companies in the fintech sector with a value of SR4 billion, creating more than 2,000 jobs in the Saudi economy,” the CMA’s chairman Mohammed bin Abdullah Elkuwaiz said.