The Saudi cabinet will soon review a bill to establish a public stock exchange to replace the existing interbank market, Finance Minister Ibrahim Al Assaf said.
"The cabinet will soon begin reviewing a draft bill on the stock exchange market after the ministry has completed it," he said, quoted by the Gulf Daily News on Friday.
The NCFEI, as the current market is called, has a capitalization of more than $60 billion and turnover hits several hundred million dollars weekly.
Assaf said the bill was part of an economic restructuring package that also included new tax legislation. The package is now before the cabinet, and a bill on cooperative insurance that is being studied by the Shura Council.
Economists and dealers alike have been urging the government to open a fully fledged stock market in the oil-rich kingdom, said the paper.
According to the paper, experts believe the new step is aimed at meeting preconditions for gaining membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), besides luring foreign investment.
The presence of a stock market is expected to boost transparency in share trading and stop artificial price movements, they said.
Assaf said the government was determined more than ever to forge ahead with key economic and financial reforms despite a rise in oil prices and revenues.
“The direction of the state is very clear in this respect; reforms shall continue and there will be no hesitation after the rise in oil prices,” he said after meeting with IMF managing director Horst Koehler in Riyadh on Thursday.
Koehler, who is currently touring the region, discussed with Assaf economic reforms carried out by Riyadh – Albawaba.com
