Blog > Oil and Energy > Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul opens to foreign investors
 | Email This Article Email This Article  | 

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul opens to foreign investors

Posted August 21, 2008

"The new rule is designed to bring foreign money into the country’s economy… because Saudi Arabia doesn’t get enough of that with all of the oil it deigns to sell the rest of the world." — Stephanie Grimmett

by Stephanie Grimmett

Baltimore — (TFN): Saudi Arabia is going to allow foreign investors onto its stock exchange. But they’ll have to buy through a licensed intermediary, who would technically be the owner of the shares.

Yep, that’s the plan. It’s been endorsed by the Capital Markets Authority (the Saudi version of the SEC), and it’s goiing to become legal sometime soon.

Let’s see, I’m supposed to give my money to some investor I don’t know in a country that has a sensitive and delicate relationship with my own (and may or may not be facilitating organizations that want to destroy my country’s government and economy and massacre its population). Gee, that sounds safe.

The new rule is designed to bring foreign money into the country’s economy… because Saudi Arabia doesn’t get enough of that with all of the oil it deigns to sell the rest of the world.

**** Scientists have developed a simple, painless test to diagnose a debilitating disease afflicting an estimated 5.1 million Americans. The number of new cases is expected to increase to 454,000 a year by 2010—and 959,000 new cases a year by 2050. An independent peer-review study found the level of accuracy to be over 90%! Most impressive, given the incredible size of the market for the test alone: This below-the-radar stock trades below $5 a share – way below! Find out how you can position yourself for MAJOR gains… ****

And that oil may be the main reason it’s taken so long for the country to open its market. Afterall, why would a wealthy nation with a self-satisfied ruling class bother with the headache of foreign investors if it didn’t have to? It took peer pressure from other Arab states (and the U.S., probably) to finally impell the country to take this step toward an open bourse, to the delight of many international investors.

Up until now, foreign investors could only access the Saudi exchange through a few select funds. And you know that, despite any risk we may see in reaching into the Saudi cookie jar, many investors are greedy and confident enough to stick both hands in and grab as much as they can hold at the first chance.

The stock exchange, called the Tadawul, is the largest Arabian bourse, and it could make the first brave souls willing to risk their money on a brave new world very rich. But personally, I’m going to sit back and wait a few months (or years) to see how the whole plan shakes out… and maybe learn Arabic to make sure I’m not being swindled by some guy who claims to be a "licensed intermediaries."

****Make sure you sign up for our FREE TFN News Feed for breaking news, special reports and new financial videos. You can pick your favorite reader. Or if you prefer, you can have the feed delivered to your email.

Related Articles


Posted by Stephanie Grimmett · Filed Under Oil and Energy 

Comments

close Reblog this comment
Powered by Disqus · Learn more
blog comments powered by Disqus