Majed Al-Qassabi, Minister of Trade and Investment.

The Saudi Ministry of Trade and Investment will assess a plan to amend regulations to allow expatriates to invest in the Kingdom within specific regulations and standards in addition to paying taxes.

Majed Al-Qassabi, minister of trade and investment, said the move will lead to the elimination of the phenomenon of commercial cover-up in the country.

He said during the launch of the “growth-parallel market” that the ministry “intended to attract quality foreign investment to create new jobs and contribute to the transfer of knowledge to Saudi Arabia.”

Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Kuwaiz, vice chairman of the Capital Market Authority, said that the parallel market will precede the main market to be available to various categories of foreign investors in the future.

“The Capital Market Authority is currently working with ‘Tadawul’ to prepare all the legal and technical aspects. The declaration of the schedule is expected during the second quarter of this year,” Al-Kuwaiz said.

He added that Saudi Aramco’s launch on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) depends on the inclusion of the market in emerging global markets indices, which requires regulatory and structural aspects.

Al-Kuwaiz said the launch of the growth-parallel market provides funding through the financial market for a new class of companies and productive projects. He added: “It is considered a channel to diversify investments and increase the pace of investment to establish new projects.”

Al-Kuwaiz pointed out that the number and size of companies that are trading are equal to or greater than those achieved in the days following the launch of other parallel markets around the world.