Formed July 2003 (2003 -07) Headquarters Riyadh | Website www.cma.org.sa | |
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Jurisdiction The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Agency executive Mohammed A. El-Kuwaiz, Vice Chairman Founded July 2004, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Profiles | ||
The Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia (CMA) (Arabic: هيئة السوق المالية) unofficially started in the early fifties, and continued to operate successfully, until the government set its basic regulations in the eighties. The current Capital Market Law is promulgated and pursuant to Royal Decree No. (M/30) dated 2/6/1424H, which formally brought it into existence. The CMA is a government organization applying full financial, legal, and administrative independence, and has direct links with the Prime Minister.
Contents
Functions
The CMA’s functions are to regulate and develop the Saudi Arabian Capital Market by issuing required rules and regulations for implementing the provisions of Capital Market Law. The basic objectives are to create an appropriate investment environment, boost confidence, and reinforce transparency and disclosure standards in all listed companies, and moreover to protect the investors and dealers from illegal acts in the market.
Duties
The CMA is entrusted with the following duties:
CMA’s Board
The CMA is governed by a Board of five (5) full-time Commissioners appointed by the Royal Decree:
Stock Exchange
The Saudi Capital Market Law provides for the establishment of the “Saudi Stock Exchange” as a Joint Stock Company that operates as the only authorized entity to carry out the trading of securities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia .
The exchange operations are currently conducted through Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), purporting to continuously develop a full-fledged security market that provides comprehensive and diverse financial services to compete internationally. Consistent with its mission to produce top quality and highly efficient securities exchange market products and services, the exchange constitutes to be an added advantage for all beneficiaries and participants in the market.
Securities Depository Center
The Capital Market Law provides for the establishment of the Securities Depository Center solely entrusted to execute the transactions of deposit, transfer, settlement, clearing and registering ownership of securities traded on the Exchange.
The functions of the Securities Depository Center are currently operated by The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).
Capital Market Law
The Saudi Capital Market Authority was established to achieve a set of objectives, of which the most important are developing an organized, fair, transparent financial market, and ensuring the protection of investors from irregular practices, which involving deceit, cheat, fraudulence, or manipulation. To achieve these objectives and others, the market system has given the Authority financial, regulatory and supervisory frameworks to facilitate the completion of the tasks entrusted to the Authority.