Saudi Arabia has opened its stock market up to foreigners for the first time as part of long-awaited economic reforms in the world’s largest oil exporter.
For now, foreigners will be limited to buying Saudi stocks via swaps involving international banks and through a small number of exchange-traded funds.
Foreign investors own about 15 percent of other, much smaller stock markets in the Gulf such as Dubai. If foreigners raise their ownership of Saudi market to
that level, it could mean an inflow of some 40 billion euros into the country.
