“Some investors in regional markets are putting money into Saudi Arabia with the view that the bourse may soon open up to direct foreign ownership,” said Asim Bukhtiar, an equity analyst at Riyad Capital. “Volumes have been going up in Saudi Arabia but are generally muted in regional bourses.” The bright note led the Saudi stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index to close 0.93 percent higher Wednesday to 7,031.26, the highest since September 2008, bringing its increase this week to 3.2 percent. About 417 million shares were traded in Saudi Arabia Wednesday, compared with a 12-month daily average of 228 million shares. SABIC advanced 1.3 percent to SR100.5, the highest since Aug. 3. Al Rajhi Bank gained to SR75.5, the highest since July 11. Saudi Arabia's Capital Market Authority is in discussions with international banks to open the country's stock exchange to foreign investors early 2012, three bankers familiar with the matter said in October. Foreign, non- Gulf investors currently can't directly invest in Saudi shares. The Kingdom hasn't set a timeline for opening its market to foreigners, stock exchange Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Al-Suweilmy said in December. The stock exchange will directly link swap-agreement portfolios to primary beneficiaries in coordination with the market regulator and brokerages, a statement on the Saudi bourse said yesterday. This will replace the previous process of combining beneficiaries under the name of authorized persons. In a growing sign of openness, the market regulator said in January it will allow overseas companies to list securities on the bourse. Non-resident foreigners are permitted to trade through share-swap transactions and exchange-traded funds, with the market regulator approving the first ETF in March 2010. The government allowed citizens of neighboring Gulf countries to buy and sell local shares in 2007. In Qatar, about 6.8 million shares were traded today, compared with the past year's daily average of 7.1 million shares. Oman's MSM 30 Index and Qatar's QE Index gained 0.1 percent. Dubai's DFM General Index and Bahrain's BB All Share Index advanced 0.8 percent. Abu Dhabi's ADX General Index increased 0.3 percent, while Kuwait's gauge fell 0.2 percent.
