CMA Announces New Rules For Ownership In Listed Companies By Foreign Strategic Investors

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The FSI Instructions have removed the existing limit on the foreign ownership of a Saudi-listed company for foreign strategic investors (FSIs) that meet the FSI Instructions' criteria, allowing them to take controlling stakes in Saudi-listed companies.

United States Corporate/Commercial Law

Marwan Elaraby,Sultan Almasoud,Rodney Cannon

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As part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's efforts to regulate and develop the capital markets and to facilitate foreign investment, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) has approved the Instructions for Foreign Strategic Investors' Ownership in Listed Companies (the "FSI Instructions"), which came into effect on June 26, 2019. The FSI Instructions have removed the existing limit on the foreign ownership of a Saudi-listed company for foreign strategic investors (FSIs) that meet the FSI Instructions' criteria, allowing them to take controlling stakes in Saudi-listed companies. The FSI Instructions are complementary to the "Rules for Qualified Foreign Financial Institutions Investment in Listed Securities" (the "QFI Rules") approved by the CMA in 2015 (as amended).

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