Starting tomorrow, Sunday, February 1, 2026, the Saudi financial market will begin implementing the decision to open the market to all categories of foreign investors and allow them to invest directly in key markets. This is a step that is considered one of the most significant regulatory reforms in the history of Saudi financial markets.
The Capital Markets Authority announced that its Board of Directors has approved a new regulatory framework that allows non-resident foreign investors direct access to key markets, making the Saudi market available to all categories of investors from around the world without prior eligibility restrictions.
Expanding the investor base
The approved regulatory reforms aim to expand and diversify the investor base, support foreign capital flows, and strengthen the level of market liquidity and depth, in line with the goal of placing the Saudi financial market among the top 10 financial markets in the world.
Under the proposed amendments, the authorities abolished the concept of “qualified foreign investor” and also abolished the regulatory framework for swap agreements in which non-resident foreign investors could only obtain economic benefits, paving the way for direct investment in stocks listed on major markets.
Further influx of foreigners
According to official data, the holdings of foreign investors in the Saudi financial market reached more than 590 billion riyals at the end of the third quarter of 2025, with international investment in the main market recording approximately 519 billion riyals compared to 498 billion riyals at the end of 2024, amid hopes that the new reforms will help attract further foreign capital inflows in the future.
The start of the implementation of this decision comes as a continuation of the phased approach that the Authority has adopted over the past few years, with one of its most prominent bureaus facilitating the procedure for opening and operating investment accounts for many categories of foreign investors in July 2025, in what was then described as a prelude to the full opening of the market.
