announced Capital Market Authority Opening the financial market to all categories of foreign investors and enabling them to invest directly in it as of February 1, 2026, after the CRA Board approved the draft regulatory framework to allow non-resident foreign investors to invest directly in the main market, making the financial market in all its categories available to various categories of investors from around the world to enter it directly.
And it is aimed Adopted amendments To expand and diversify the base of investors who may invest in the main market, supporting the flow of investments and enhancing liquidity.
The approved amendments abolished the concept of qualified foreign investor in the main market, allowing all categories of foreign investors to enter the market without having to meet the qualification requirements, in addition to abolishing the regulatory framework for swap agreements that were used as an option to enable non-resident foreign investors to obtain only the economic benefits of listed securities, and allowing direct investment in shares listed on the main market.
590 billion riyals in foreign investor ownership
By the end of the third quarter of 2025, the ownership of international investors in the financial market amounted to more than 590 billion riyals, while international investments in the main market recorded about 519 billion riyals during the same period, an increase from the size of their ownership at the end of 2024, which amounted to 498 billion riyals, and it is expected that the approved amendments will contribute to attracting more international investments.
It is noteworthy that the Capital Market Authority approved in July 2025 to facilitate the procedures for opening and operating investment accounts for a number of categories of investors, which included natural foreign investors residing in one of the GCC countries, or who previously resided in the Kingdom or one of the GCC countries, which is considered an interim step towards the decision announced today, which aims to increase the level of confidence of participants in the main market and enhance the support of the local economy.
These approved amendments come in line with the CMA's gradual approach to opening the market after a number of previous stages, which will be followed by complementary stages to enhance the opening of the financial market and make it an international market that attracts more foreign capital.
In October 2025, the CMA published the “Draft Regulatory Framework to Allow Non-Resident Foreign Investors to Invest Directly in the Main Market” on the National Competitiveness Center's unified electronic platform for polling the public and government entities (Estesaa) and the CMA's website.