CMA endorses strategic plan for 2024-2026

The Capital Market Authority (CMA) has adopted the strategic plan for the period 2024-2026 to continue the continuous development of the financial market, in line with the requirements of the next stage, and in accordance with the Financial Sector Program plan, serving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 to build an advanced capital market.

According to a statement issued by CMA, the strategic plan aims to achieve the Authority's vision of the Saudi Exchange becoming a major source of financing and investment for the development of the national economy, and one of the key financial markets in the world.

CMA's strategic plan is based on three main pillars that include nine strategic objectives; it also includes a package of initiatives to achieve these objectives:

- The first pillar: It aims to activate the role of the financial market in financing and investment by bolstering the role of the stock market and equity in financing, developing the sukuk and debt instruments market, enabling the growth of the Kingdom's asset management industry, and enhancing the services of the Saudi Exchange to attract more international investments.

- The second pillar: It aims to empower the financial market system by supporting and enabling financial market institutions, and supporting financial technology in the financial sector.

- The third pillar: It aims to protect investors' rights by strengthening the level of transparency and supervision, facilitating means of compensation, and enhancing mechanisms for dealing with specific issues and deterrence efficiency.

The Authority has developed a set of initiatives that seek to achieve a number of targets in its strategic plan, namely enabling the listing of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) in Nomu-Parallel Market, as well as the offering of Saudi depositary receipts in the market. In an effort to stimulate the growth of the asset management industry, CMA will work to develop the regulatory framework for financing funds, and enable the establishment of more flexible fund structures, in addition to developing regulatory frameworks for increasing or decreasing the total value of assets of public and traded closed-end mutual funds.

At the level of developing the sukuk and debt instruments market, CMA will work to establish a regulatory framework for green and ESG debt instruments, facilitate the regulatory frameworks for offering, listing and registering debt instruments, and develop the regulatory framework for issuing sukuk and debt instruments by closed-end REITs.

According to the statement, CMA aspires through its strategic plan to boost the attractiveness of the market to foreign investors, and for the Saudi Exchange to be a regional and international leader. It also looks forward to growing the volume of managed assets, and doubling the number of companies licensed to practice Fintech activities in the market by the end of 2026.

The Authority has adopted a number of initiatives, including developing investment account instructions, activating the administrative services activity for funds, studying amending the minimum capital requirement for practicing custody works, and enabling the application of open finance within the financial market.

As regards protecting investors' rights, CMA is working to develop procedures for class action compensation, support and assistance to investors in private rights, and improve the process of handling complaints between financial market institutions and their clients.

In terms of enhancing the level of transparency, CMA will work on developing the corporate governance regulations, raising the efficiency of mutual fund governance and the responsibilities of board members, in addition to a number of development initiatives.