No time set for foreign entry

Saudi Arabia is yet to finalise a timeframe for when it will open up its stock market for direct foreign ownership, the chief executive of the kingdom's stock exchange said on Sunday.

"It needs to be done right. The Saudi market has always done things in a structured way," Abdullah al Suweilmy told reporters on the sidelines of the Arab federation of exchanges conference in Abu Dhabi.

Asked if it could be soon, he said: "No timeframe."

Saudi Arabia has been considering a wider opening of its market, the biggest in the region, for several years. Currently, foreigners have only very limited opportunities to invest through indirect ownership and exchange traded funds that track indexes.