The Capital Market Authority in Saudi Arabia, one of the largest economies in the Arab region, has granted Barclays and Societe Generale investment banking licenses – reported Financial Times. Subsequent to the liberalisation of the financial sector in the oil kingdom, CMA has granted more than 100 licenses to investment firms over the past four years.
The two international investment groups are at present busy in setting up offices in Saudi Arabia. With the nation’s oil dependent economy expected to contract this year due to the ongoing global financial crisis, majority of the local banks believe that there is little business left for the new entrants.
However, Abdulrahman al-Tuwaijri, chairman of the CMA, said: The banks are not looking at this year or next year – they are looking at the potential of this country. The regulator is also planning to enable investment groups to launch Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) before the end of the year as it seeks to develop the Saudi market and attract more institutional investment, reported the newspaper.
