GulfBase Live Support
Leave a message and our representative will contact you soon
11/08/2016 06:01 AST
The Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) Board approved the final draft of the amended Rules for Qualified Foreign Financial Institutions Investment (QFFII) in Listed Securities after the draft was published on the CMA’s website for 30 days for consultation, the regulatory body said Wednesday. CMA clarifies that it has studied carefully all opinions, observations and recommendations received from investors, specialists and related parties.
The Rules include 24 Articles comprising procedures, requirements and conditions for the registration of the qualified foreign investors (“QFIs”) with the CMA to invest in the listed securities, and to specify their and the authorized persons’ obligations in this regard.
The Rules include lowering the minimum value of the assets under management to be SR3,750,000,000, rather than SR18,750,000,000 ($1 billion or more instead of $5 billion or more).
Furthermore, in the Rules the types of foreign financial institutions are increased to include governments and government related entities.
Moreover, the Rules eliminated the QFI client`s concept and removed some of the ownership thresholds/limits and relaxed the others.
It should be noted that the Rules include the option that a QFI may engage with a Saudi or non-Saudi portfolio manager to manage its investment in the Saudi Capital Market, including the GCC portfolio managers.
The CMA announced that the amended Rules will be effective starting Sept. 4, 2016. The current Rules for Qualified Foreign Financial Institutions Investment in Listed Shares shall continue to be effective until the effective date of the Rules.
In addition, the CMA will announce soon the updated Frequently Asked Questions on the Rules, which addresses questions that CMA received during the preparation of the Rules.
The amendment of the Rules is in line with the CMA’s efforts that aim to develop the capital market given that the approach to free the capital market is based on a gradual method, and on the basis of the CMA`s strategic objectives to expand the base of institutional investment.
The CMA highlighted that allowing QFIs to enter the capital market contributes in achieving several objectives in the short and long term, such as the addition of the expertise of specialists international investors to the local market, enhancement of the market efficiency, motivate the listed companies to improve the level of transparency and financial information disclosure and governance practices, raise the level of research, studies and evaluations of the capital market generally and the listed companies in particular, which should result in all participants having better access to accurate information and fair evaluations.
As for the authorized persons (financial institutions licensed by the CMA), this step should contribute to the growth of their businesses, and will be accompanied by an increase in awareness activities and various conferences specified for the investment in the Saudi market and to promote the awareness generally about the capital market.
The CMA explained that the Rules allow qualified foreign financial institutions to exercise all the rights associated with the listed securities, including voting rights and trading rights issues in the market.
Saudi Gazette
Ticker | Price | Volume |
---|---|---|
SABIC | 114.77 | 5,915,941 |
05/04/2018
Foreign investors bought $1.18 billion in Middle East and North African equities in March, especially Saudi ones amid the kingdom’s upgrade to emerging market status by FTSE Russell, according to a r
The National
05/04/2018
Buying activity in financials lifted the MSM30 Index to 4,794.61 points, up 0.41 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index closed at 676.52 points, down 0.08 per cent. Gulf Investment Services was the most acti
Times of Oman
05/04/2018
Traded value on the Dubai Financial Market tumbled on Wednesday as global stocks declined amid an intensifying US-China trade war. In Abu Dhabi, banking shares surged ahead of first quarter results s
Gulf News
04/04/2018
Driven by financial blue chips, the MSM30 Index continued its recovery to close at 4,775.27 points, a gain of 0.53 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index ended at 677.06 points, down 0.07 per cent. HSBC Bank
Times of Oman
04/04/2018
Emaar Properties shares extended losses for another session on Tuesday, to hit their lowest level in a year, as selling continued on the wider Dubai gauge. Emaar Properties fell to a low of Dh5.58, b
Gulf News