Tadawul is the largest stock exchange in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in terms of market capitalisation. On the IPO front, Tadawul has seen remarkable growth after the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to the commitments and programmes mapped out under Vision 2030, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's (KSA) transformative economic development blueprint.
While overseas listing is not yet commonplace among KSA companies, Tadawul has been actively exploring international collaborations. The bourse welcomed the first listing of a foreign company in December 2022, which was also the region’s first concurrent dual listing. In addition, Tadawul has sought co‑operation with overseas exchanges such as the HKEx and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, where MoUs were signed in March and September 2023, respectively.
On one hand, there have been increasing funding and listing needs of KSA companies, due to rising demand to finance overseas expansion under economic diversification blueprints, closer economic ties with Asia, particularly China, and the need to leverage expertise and attract investments into the Kingdom.
On the other hand, Hong Kong – Asia’s international financial centre, stands as an ideal listing destination for KSA companies, especially in the energy, materials and renewable energy, infrastructure, and healthcare sector who are seeing overseas listing as a viable option for global expansion. This can be largely attributed to the fact that Hong Kong is the gateway to Asia, notably China and ASEAN, and therefore it can offer KSA companies exposure to prominent international financial centres and access to a huge investor pool and liquidity.
The convergence of KSA’s economic diversification vision and Hong Kong’s expertise in equity markets creates a conducive environment for collaboration, fostering mutually beneficial opportunities for KSA companies to access global capital and expand their footprint.
The opinions and views expressed are those of the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the views of CCB International or the HKTDC. CCB International and the HKTDC shall in no way be responsible for the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the information provided by third parties, and for any loss associated with the use of such information.
Note: This article forms part of a joint study conducted by HKTDC Research in collaboration with CCB International: “Hong Kong: An Ideal Overseas Listing Venue for Middle East Companies”.;
Related link Reserch Analysis and News - Analysis
