Middle East: Saudi Arabia takes cautious first steps to an open market

Only half a year after opening up to international fund houses, the Saudi Stock Exchange has already registered nine Qualified Foreign Investors (QFI) and a further two QFI clients. On paper it sounds impressive: between them, these businesses have more than $5.65 trillion under management. However, that sum is skewed by BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, which accounts for $4.5 trillion of the total, based on its asset position on September 30, and the extent of its investment to date is the setting up of a New York-listed Saudi ETF under its iShares arm.