The chairman of the Saudi Capital Markets Authority has said that "the Saudi stock market is now larger than the entire economy of the kingdom, regardless of Aramco."
According to Arab News, during a session organized by the Saudi Economic Association, Muhammad Al-Quwaiz revealed that 54 more listing applications are pending, of which 31 are direct listings.With the addition of Aramco, the size of the balance sheet is four times greater than the economy, said Mohamed Al-Quwaiz.
He said that the pace of large number of companies for direct listing is due to the fact that the country was the first company in the GCC region to implement the method of direct listing.
He pointed out that the Capital Markets Authority is currently reviewing the direct listing methodology to introduce the improvements that are required before applying the experience to the central market.
He said it significantly increased the flexibility for companies looking to list their shares and that this was one of the factors that contributed to the success of the Saudi Aramco IPO.
The chairman of the Saudi Capital Markets Authority said the distribution ratio between institutions and individuals could vary depending on the nature of the offer. This could change from one offer to another, and this happened in the IPO of Saudi Tadawul Group.
Muhammad Alquis added that the role of the central market maker is to provide liquidity in the market and not to prevent the market from rising or falling.He said there is a market maker in government debt instruments because they deal directly with a group of banks that buy from the state, and they offer two prices to those who want to buy and sell.
Al-Quwaiz added that the Saudi Tadawul Group is working on developing and expanding its market-making scope to include stocks in the main market and in Nomo.
The Saudi Tadawul Group expects to raise about بل 1 billion in IPOs starting this month.
The original plan was to allocate 10% of the 36 million shares to individuals, before it was later increased to 30%.
Khalid al-Hassan, CEO of the Saudi Tadawul Group, said the increase was always considered a possible option.
He said that in the Saudi market, retail buyers represent a significant share in terms of size and market attractiveness in terms of daily and monthly turnover.
The process of creating order books for institutions will continue from November 21 to 26.
