Tadawul’s market cap grew 463% to USD 2.7 tn in 2024, up from USD 483 bn in 2014, making it the largest emerging equity market outside Asia, according to a recent report by S&P Global Ratings. The main market was home to 91 IPOs over the same period, bringing the total number of listed issuers to 247 by the end of last year, compared to 169 in 2014.

Why it matters: S&P predicts that the total debt expected to be raised by the government won’t be sufficient to cover the financing gap, making the case for a stronger, more liquid capital market that could “enable companies and financial institutions to allocate more capital toward investments while managing leverage.” Funding needs of giga and mega projects part of Vision 2030 are estimated to cost more than USD 1 tn.

GREs hold the key: Tadawul remains heavily dominated by the public sector despite a flurry ofIPOs, with government-related entities (GREs) accounting for around USD 44 bn of the USD 65 bn raised through listings over the past 10 years. GREs still control much of Tadawul’s total capitalization (64% as of April 2025) and 13.8% of the free float — yet contribute little to daily turnover.

MEANWHILE- Domestic mutual funds and institutional discretionary portfolio managers held 3.8% of the total cap, or 7.3% of the free float.

AND- We’re gonna need a bigger (foreign) boat: Foreign participation remains modest, with international investors accounting for just 11% of the free float, or 4.2% of total market value by the end of last year. This is much lower than the 54% held by foreign investors in EM peer Brazilian Stock Exchange’s market cap, the 36% in Borsa Istanbul, and a 21% in the Dubai Financial Market, the global rating agency said.

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