Saudi Arabia Eases Restrictions on Foreign Investors

June 28, 2019 – Saudi Arabia has relaxed a 49 percent limit for foreign strategic investors in shares of listed companies on Tadawul. Through this reform, Saudi Arabia hopes to attract billions of dollars in foreign investment, particularly as it opens its bourse, the largest in the region, to an increasingly diverse group of investors. Under the new regulations, strategic foreign investors can take stakes in listed companies by either buying the shares directly on the market or through private transactions and initial public offerings. The new regulations have also done away with any minimum or maximum ownership limits, the only restriction being that investors must hold their shares for two years before they can sell.