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Find out moreWe are excited to share the latest edition of the Law Update, beautifully and appropriately titled “Sustainable Horizons: The Saudi Arabian Vision.” Giving special honor to the Kingdom’s 2030 vision, this update focuses on a collection of both informative and inspiring articles.
For those in construction, you can learn about how the tendering environment impacts risk-pricing for contractors, the updates on the legal framework of the construction industry and how contractors can protect themselves against financial difficulties.
There is good news too from the kingdom’s banking sector, from which the practice of “Open Banking” is being pushed for! But what is open banking? We’re answering that too.
Also . . . Are there any women trail blazers in Saudi Arabia you can name? We’ll help you with that. We cover how the Middle East has been making strides in empowering women in the entrepreneurial space,most notably in STEM fields.
Read the full editionAgathi Trakkidi - Senior Associate - Banking and Finance
In an effort to further attract foreign investment in the KSA, the Capital Market Authority (‘CMA’) issued the Instructions for the Foreign Strategic Investors Ownership in Listed Companies (‘FSI Instructions’) in June 2019. The FSI Instructions remove the foreign ownership limitations contained in the Rules for Qualified Foreign Financial Institutions Investment in Listed Securities (‘QFI Rules’), with regard to persons qualifying as foreign strategic investors.
KSA has traditionally restricted foreign investment in Saudi securities. Until 2015, when the QFI Rules were introduced, it was not possible for foreign persons to directly invest in securities listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul). Instead, foreign investors were only able to invest in listed securities through swap agreements entered into with CMA authorised persons (i.e. entities authorised by the CMA to engage in securities business in the KSA).
Since 2015, it has been possible for qualified foreign investors (‘QFIs’) to directly invest in securities listed on Tadawul and exercise all rights associated with them. The QFI Rules set out the procedures, requirements and conditions for QFIs to invest in listed securities and specify the obligations of QFIs as well as the obligations of authorised persons assessing them.
In order for a foreign (i.e. non-GCC) entity to qualify as a QFI, it must be a financial institution having a legal personality and must fall in any of the following categories:
The financial institutions mentioned above must be incorporated in a jurisdiction applying regulatory and monitoring standards equivalent to those of the CMA or acceptable to it.
Furthermore, with the exception of governments or government related entities, the foreign financial institution must have assets under management or custody of at least SAR 1,875,000,000 (or an equivalent amount) – although the CMA may reduce such assets.
In order to obtain the qualification, the foreign entity must file an application with an assessing authorised person (which is an authorised person licensed to conduct ‘custody’ or ‘dealing’ activities). Such authorised person will assess the application in accordance with the procedures and criteria set out in the QFI Rules.
In terms of investment restrictions, the QFI Rules stipulate the following:
The QFI Rules do not apply in relation to foreign strategic investors (‘FSIs’). A FSI, pursuant to the FSI Instructions, is a foreign legal entity that aims to own a ‘Strategic Shareholding’ in Tadawul listed companies. ‘Strategic Shareholding’ is a direct ownership percentage in the shares of a listed company, through which it is intended to contribute in promoting the financial or operational performance of the listed company.
In order for a FSI to own a Strategic Shareholding in a listed company it must:
Given that the QFI Rules do not apply to FSIs, the ownership restrictions set out in the QFI Rules (including the 49 percent maximum limit) will not be relevant to FSIs. However, investments of a FSI will still be subject to the following restrictions:
It is worth noting that the Listing Rules of Tadawul specify a minimum 30 percent float requirement for shares listed on the main market and a minimum 20 percent float requirement for shares listed on the parallel market (unless the CMA permits lower percentages). On this basis, it seems that the maximum holding limit for a FSI in any issuer listed on the main market is 70percent of the shares and 80 percent of the shares in any issuer listed on the parallel market – subject always to any other applicable limitations as mentioned above.
Industry-specific regulators (e.g. in the area of telecommunications) may be required to provide their approval before a strategic investment is made in a listed company under their supervision. Furthermore, the General Authority for Competition may be required to assess and approve a transaction involving the shares of a listed company where this would result in an economic concentration.
Moreover, the CMA’s Merger and Acquisition Regulations provide that the CMA has the right to require an investor acquiring over 50 percent of a given class of listed shares carrying voting rights, to make a mandatory bid for all shares of the same class in the target.
By introducing the QFI Rules in 2015 and the FSI Instructions in 2019, KSA has taken significant steps towards reducing regulatory obstacles to foreign investment in KSA listed companies. A testament to the continuous efforts of KSA to modernise its stock market is the recent debut of Tadawul in the emerging markets indexes of FTSE Russell, S&P Dow Jones and MSCI. It is expected that these developments will further boost foreign investment in the Saudi market.
Al Tamimi & Company’s Banking & Finance team regularly advises on capital markets and regulatory matters. For further information please contact Rafiq Jaffer (r.jaffer@tamimi.com) or Agathi Trakkidi (a.trakkidi@tamimi.com).
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