Tadawul sees more foreign investments, IPOs; focuses on debt market: Al-Rumaih

Mohammed Al-Rumaih, CEO of Tadawul

Mohammed Al-Rumaih, CEO of the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul), said that Saudi companies have attracted huge interest from foreign investors during the international edition of the Capital Markets Forum 2024 in Hong Kong.

In an interview with Argaam, Al-Rumaih said that the Saudi market is witnessing an increase in foreign investments, which grew by more than 20% in 2023, compared to 2022, and witnessed a two-fold increase during the past five years.

For more exclusive interviews 

He added that more foreign investments are expected in the Saudi market, with the increase in the number of companies and growing interest in investor relations, in addition to the robust economic growth in the Kingdom.

Tadawul has approved 10 companies to go public and is awaiting setting the dates of their offerings. Moreover, there are more than 50 applications for share offerings. The number of IPOs this year is forecast to exceed last year’s level due to increased liquidity and rising interest from local and international investors, Al-Rumaih said.

"We believe that the stock market is in a strong position, as it has witnessed an increase in investors, liquidity, and products. Our focus will be on the debt market, which is strategic for the market and complementary to the stock market, in addition to focusing on the derivatives market," Al-Rumaih stated.

He indicated that debt market issuances were solid in terms of demand and investor number.

Al-Rumaih said there was an excellent improvement in liquidity, motivating companies to tap into the market.

He expected further issuances in the near future.