DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s stock market regulator proposed rules on Thursday for opening the $580 billion market to direct investment by foreign institutions, including a 10 per cent cap on foreign ownership of the market’s value.

Among other draft rules, a single foreign investor could own no more than 5pc of any listed firm, while all foreign institutions combined could own no more than 20pc of a company. The Saudi Capital Market Authority published the draft rules on its website on Thursday.

The market is the biggest in the Arab world and one of the last major bourses to open up, so the reform is attracting massive foreign interest.

Fund managers have estimated the market could draw $50bn or more of new foreign money in the coming years if it is included in global equity indexes.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2014