Chairman of the Saudi Capital Market Authority Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Tuwaijri said he expects companies and banks to begin trading bonds (sukuk) in the Saudi market as early as this year. In an exclusive interview with CNBC Arabiya, Al-Tuwaijri said CMA was technically preparing the capital market to accommodate the trading of sukuk. Companies in general, and banks in specific, were urged to launch bonds to Saudi nationals trading in the market. He also explained that easy access to loans in the past was among the reasons for the delay in launching bonds. Highlighting the importance of transparency, Al-Tuwaijri confirmed that all companies were committed to releasing their financial results on time, in addition to the market enjoying very high levels of transparency. He said the Saudi Financial Market was the only market in the region for which its publicly listed companies release their financial results on time, noting that not one company held up its results during the last two financial quarters. He added that CMA had introduced a specific form for announcing company news in which investors can acquire the important information which can have a major effect on the company's market performance. CMA has also implemented a fining system to encourage companies to apply the highest levels of transparency in the market to avoid the leakage of potential information before any public announcement. Al-Tuwaijri said the CMA role was to protect investors and the general public from unfair and unsound practices involving fraud, deceit, cheating, manipulation and insider trading, in addition to achieving fairness, efficiency and transparency in securities transactions.
