Saudi Arabia said to impose 60% hike in bourse fees

Saudi Arabia, which is currently readying an initial public offering (IPO) of shares in its stock exchange Tadawul, plans to increase trading fees by over 60 percent, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

The Capital Market Authority (CMA) told brokers that it is considering increasing commissions per trade to 0.029 percent from 0.018 percent, a 61 percent increase, sources said. The new fees will be split equally between the regulator and Tadawul, and could be introduced later in the year.

“The CMA is considering a change to the trading fee structure and will make the necessary announcement as and when the CMA’s board makes its decision,” a spokesman for the CMA said in a statement, adding that charges are imposed on both sellers and buyers of securities.

The Tadawul declined to comment, it was reported.

As a result of the fee increase, brokers have reportedly requested that a 12 basis points limit on how much they can earn from each trade be raised or removed.

The hike in fees may provide a revenue boost for Tadawul amid plans for an IPO by 2018.