March 12, 2010
Editor’s Note: In his book, “Inside the Mirage, Thomas Lippman commented, “I’ve had the strong impression from visiting Saudi Arabia that there is a new generation of educated Saudi women who are trying to claim what they think is their proper place in the economic and social life of the country, as indeed they should. [...]
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March 21, 2010
The Saudi Capital Markets Authority announced last week it would open index funds to foreign investors by the end of the month, but investment in individual companies was not yet on the horizon. Last week our friends at the Arabianomics blog posted the question, “Would you buy index funds in Saudi Arabia?,” accompanied by a description of the Saudi economy’s strong points: undertaking the world’s largest stimulus package by GDP; gained on the UN’s “Ease of Doing Business Report” every year; and has over $400 billion in net foreign assets as a safety cushion. Arabianomics cautioned that many Saudi stocks underperformed last year but noted in an update, citing FT’s Robbin Rigglesworth, that “Saudi Arabia’s stock market, the largest in the Middle East, has recovered more swiftly than most of its peers this year, justifying its position as the first choice in the region of almost every analyst and fund manager.”
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