Fahad Al-Zahrani

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) plans to launch a derivatives exchange in the latest move to modernize the Kingdom’s financial landscape.

An announcement about the launch of futures contracts will be made before the end of the third quarter of this year, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported, citing CMA Chairman Mohammed El-Kuwaiz.

“We are in the phase of developing the derivatives market with intensive work on the options contracts and the futures contracts” he said.

He was speaking in an online discussion panel organized by the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monshaat).

The markets chief said that the impact of the coronavirus on the market would be more visible in second quarter earnings and that the regulator was working on easing some of its procedures in response.

Tadawul is planning to launch additional derivative products gradually as part of its strategy to diversify its product offering and provide more investment opportunities for global investors.

Separately, Tadawul CEO Khalid Al-Hussan disclosed that the bourse has received a number of requests for new share offerings that are currently being reviewed. He said three companies had been approved to list on the parallel market known as “Nomu.”