Saudi Arabia will implement by the middle of 2017 planned reforms to stimulate the stock market and open it wider to foreign investment, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) has said. "The amended rules will be published and effective before the end of the first half of 2017," the regulator said in a statement sent to Reuters. Announcing the reforms on Tuesday, the CMA had said the new rules and a date for them to become effective would be published by the end of the first half of next year. New rules allow each foreign investor to own a stake of under 10 percent of a single company. Previously, each QFI together with its affiliates could only own a maximum of 5 percent of the shares of any listed company. To qualify as a QFI, foreign institutions will now only need to have a minimum SR3.75 billion ($1 billion) of assets under management, rather than SR18.75 billion as required previously, the CMA said. Furthermore, the CMA agreed to the inclusion of new foreign financial institutions, including sovereign wealth funds and university endowments. All foreign investors jointly (whether resident or non-resident) can own no more than 49 percent of shares of any listed company on the market unless company's bylaws or any other regulation provides for foreign ownership to be limited to a lower percentage. — Agencies
