Investors in Saudi stocks will have access to new hedging tools after Nasdaq Dubai revealed plans to launch equity futures on Saudi stocks.
The initiative comes on the back of growing international investor interest in the Saudi stock market, which was upgraded to emerging market status by FTSE Russell in March.
The futures are scheduled to be launched in the third quarter of 2018 and will cover some of the kingdom’s largest businesses in sectors including transport, banking, real estate and petrochemicals.
Hamed Ali, chief executive of Nasdaq Dubai, said the move would give investors “an exciting new route to gain exposure to the kingdom’s dynamic and rapidly expanding equity markets”.
Nasdaq Dubai launched a UAE futures trading business in September 2016, initially with seven UAE-listed companies. Although that number has since increased to 17, activity remains limited.
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