Saudi CMA abolishes the Qualified Foreign Investor regime. Direct Tadawul access opens.
Insight N°033
4 February 2026
On 1 February 2026, the Saudi Capital Market Authority abolished the Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI) regime. Foreign investors now have direct access to the Tadawul Main Market through licensed Saudi brokers, without the prior requirement to register and qualify as a QFI.
The 49% aggregate foreign ownership cap and the 10% per-investor cap are retained. The QFI status hurdle is gone.
Why this is more than a capital markets reform
The QFI regime was historically a meaningful friction for international asset managers and family offices considering Saudi exposure. The registration process, the documentation requirements, and the broker selection consequences combined to delay international allocator entry into Saudi listed equities. With the regime abolished, international allocators can buy Saudi stocks through any licensed Saudi broker, on the same operational terms as Saudi domestic investors.
The downstream effect on international operating presence
Foreign institutional capital flowing into Saudi equities is the upstream of foreign business presence. When international pension funds, insurers and asset managers actively allocate to Saudi listed companies, the pipeline of international operating firms considering Saudi entry widens behind it. The abolition of QFI status in February 2026 is one of the structural reforms that accelerates that pipeline.
What we do
audixintel helps international firms whose Saudi entry strategy benefits from the deeper capital markets relationship that the post-QFI environment creates. From operating entity through capital markets integration.
Sources
audixintel
Saudi market entry, made operational.