Saudi Arabia's Neom megaproject has attracted global attention from both investors and skeptics, aiming to become a megacity of the future with creations like "The Line" that seem like something out of a science fiction film. However, in July 2022, Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman revealed another objective of Neom that went unnoticed by most outside observers: going public on the Saudi stock exchange, already the biggest in the MENA region. Prince Mohammed declared that a future Neom IPO would further aid the larger objective of making the Saudi Tadawul—Saudi Exchange—become the third largest in the world.
For decades, in a country whose economy relied almost solely on oil, the Kingdom's stock market went largely unnoticed by both Saudis and foreigners. Historically, Saudi Arabia has lacked an investment culture that has permeated free market capitalist societies like the United States. Saudi wariness around investing can be seen in statistics from the Saudi Tadawul (exchange), where in 2018 only 4.74 million Saudis—20% of the adult population 20 and above—invested. This level of participation is little compared with the 37% of adults in the United States who invest, and even smaller considering that prior to the 2008 recession, 66% of adult Americans were investors. While Saudi participation in the stock market was relatively low to begin with, foreigners were not even allowed to trade Saudi equities until post-recession economic reforms in 2008 via stock swaps. Ultimately, the Saudi government did not fully permit foreign investment until 2015, seeing the need to both diversify the Saudi economy and improve Saudi corporate governance through foreign oversight.
Saudi Aramco celebrating its IPO, the biggest in the history of global markets. Saudi Aramco via Reuters
Despite these reforms, the Saudi stock market did not truly catch the eyes of foreign investors until 2019, when Saudi Aramco—Saudi Arabia's major state-owned oil company—went public. At the time, Aramco was the most valuable company in the world, and its IPO ultimately became the world's biggest in the history. The decision to make Aramco public was ultimately driven by the need to attract foreign investment and develop the Saudi stock market, showing how crucial this market is becoming to the Kingdom's objectives surrounding Vision 2030.
The objective of developing the Saudi stock market into the world's third largest is intertwined with many key economic goals of Saudi Vision 2030. By developing the Kingdom's financial sector, the Saudi government can create a whole new job market that is separate from the oil industry. Meanwhile, a mature Saudi stock market open to the world can facilitate the injection of huge amounts of foreign capital into the Saudi economy. This was seen with the Saudi Aramco IPO, where by 2024, secondary share sales raised over $5 billion from foreign investors in the U.S., U.K., Hong Kong, and Japan. In addition to foreign investors bringing massive capital to an increasingly diverse Saudi economy, the presence of these investors will have spillover effects for various sectors across the Kingdom. Even more important than injecting liquidity, increasing foreign investment in the Kingdom will encourage corporate governance reforms and force Saudi companies to be better managed in consideration of its shareholders, in turn becoming more profitable. The Saudi government's desire to improve corporate governance via foreign oversight brings it into the footsteps of countries like Japan, which has revitalized its stock market in part due to similar reforms emphasizing foreign activity and supervision.
Due to the emergence of the Saudi market, many foreign investment banks have expanded their presence to the Kingdom in recent years. Firms like Goldman Sachs and Evercore have expanded their Saudi presence, while HSBC flagged Saudi Arabia as a key location for hires. This hiring and expansion spree has resulted in surging salaries for bankers in the Kingdom and for those willing to relocate there, despite offices in other parts of the world laying off employees and decreasing bonuses. The growth of the Saudi stock market, the presence of Sovereign Wealth Funds in the region, and upward population growth all lend themselves to foreign banks like Jefferies identifying Saudi Arabia and the broader Gulf region as an opportunity of the future.
Sarah Al-Suhaimi, the first female chairperson of the Saudi Tadawul, speaking at the 2025 Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum. The Saudi Times
In addition to its economic impact, development of the Kingdom's stock market has major implications for Saudi society as a whole. Namely, the number of Saudis invested in the stock market have steadily increased over the past decade to over 6 million by mid-2023. This includes Saudi women, who through financial literacy programs have become more and more economically empowered. Outside the home, Saudi Wall Street has become another avenue for women to pursue career success. One such banker, Sarah Al-Suhaimi, turned heads when she became the first female head of the Saudi Tadawul in 2017, having become the first female chief executive of a Saudi investment bank three years prior. Making the Forbes Middle East list of 100 Most Powerful Businesswomen in 2024 and 2025, Sarah's success in Saudi banking represents the potential of growing economic sectors like finance to drive fundamental changes in Saudi society.
Another sign of change in Saudi Arabia is its IPO market, which has witnessed a boom in recent years. While only five companies filed an IPO in 2019, 41 companies went public in 2024. Ultimately, the amount of change in both Saudi markets and the overall Saudi banking industry within the past ten years should not be ignored. The eightfold increase in Saudi IPOs, the gradual opening up to foreign investment, and even the emergence of the first female head of the Tadawul all demonstrate how the Saudi market is quickly becoming a pillar of change in a Kingdom investing in its future, lest it miss out on the upside potential such change can bring.