Optimistic Start for Saudi Exchange in 2024

The Saudi capital market had an optimistic start to the year despite ongoing volatility, building a strong foundation for our capital market’s continued growth through the rest of 2024, Saudi Exchange CEO Mohammed Al Rumaih said.

In a report entitled “Capital Market Review for Q1 of 2024,” he said that the Saudi Exchange, which comprises the main market Tadawul and parallel market Nomu, continued to invest in diversified investment opportunities for domestic and international investors and it remained focused on the advancement of the broader capital market ecosystem amid Saudi Arabia’s ongoing economic transformation.

“Despite the regional macroeconomic environment continues to face global pressures, there have been positive developments recently for Saudi consumers and Saudi investors and the capital market,” he said.

The report further said that unemployment dropped to 7.7% in Q4 of 2023 from 8.6% in Q3 of 2023, representing the lowest unemployment rate Saudi Arabia has experienced in over eight quarters. The inflation rate increased slightly to 1.67% in Q1 of 2024 from 1.60% in Q4 2023.

In Q1 of 2024, the Saudi Exchange experienced a high level of activity, with the total number of trades on the Saudi Exchange’s main market rising 32.04% to 35,016,401 compared to Q4 of 2023. Impressively, in Q1 of this year, the value traded on Tadawul increased to $153.49 billion, 60.45% increase compared with the previous quarter.

Nomu also experienced steady growth, with its market capitalisation increasing by 5.24% to reach $13.53 billion in Q1 2024 compared with the previous quarter. The value traded on the Nomu soared to $880 million, a 94.15% increase from the last quarter.

He also said that as a testament to the Saudi Exchange’s continued investment in growing the country’s debt market, the total size of issuance of sukuk and bonds reached $150.31 billion, up 2.57% from $146.55 billion in the previous quarter.

Three New Sukuks Listed

Saudi Exchange also welcomed three newly listed sukuk during the first quarter of 2024. Developing a robust IPO pipeline has been an important goal of the Saudi Exchange, and the Exchange has taken significant steps to expand the diversity of listings and provide greater support to companies throughout their listing journey.

“Attracting new investors and enhancing liquidity is a key focus for the Saudi Exchange. As we continue to expand our product offerings and build a sophisticated market infrastructure, we are seeing growing interest and excitement among local and international investors and issuers about the diverse opportunities available to them within the market,” he explained.

In Q1 of 2024, these efforts yielded clear results as the value of foreign investors’ holdings increased by 4.55% to $111.64 billion on Tadawul, and by an impressive 46.26% to reach $230.39 million on Nomu, compared to Q4 of 2023.

“At the close of a successful first quarter of 2024, we are well-positioned to further extend and build upon our growth throughout 2024. Helping the Saudi capital market fulfil its potential as a leading global capital market and a financial hub that connects the East and West remains a key focus,” he added.