RIYADH: The $500 billion mega-city planned by Saudi Arabia will be floated on financial markets alongside oil giant Saudi Aramco as part of the kingdom’s drive to diversify away from oil, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in an interview.
The 26,500-square kilometers business and industrial zone, named Neom, will extend into Jordan and Egypt. It was unveiled on Tuesday at a three-day international investment conference.
The surprise announcement is the latest — and most extraordinary — in a slate of privatization programs led by the floating of oil giant Saudi Aramco. The sales are designed to boost the Saudi economy and create jobs for millions of young people.
“Without a doubt, at the end of the day Neom will be floated in the markets. The first zone floated in the public markets. It’s as if you float the city of New York,” the Crown Prince said.
Prince Mohammed also said the Saudi Aramco IPO was on track for next year, dismissing reports of delays, adding it could be valued at more than $2 trillion.
He spoke on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative conference, which has attracted nearly 4,000 delegates from around the world to Riyadh this week.
Adjacent to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba and near maritime trade routes that use the Suez Canal, the zone will serve as a gateway to the proposed King Salman Bridge, which will link Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Neom will be fully owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF) until its listing, and will attract investments from companies in renewable energy, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and entertainment, the PIF has said.
“It won’t be listed in the markets until the idea is mature enough,” he said. “It might be after 2030, it might be before, but the idea and the strategy is to float it eventually.”
He said the name mixed “neo,” meaning new, with M, the first letter of the Arabic word for future.
It is part of the Vision 2030 plan to overhaul the economy of Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer, and provide jobs for an overwhelmingly young population amid a global oil price decline since 2014.
Economic growth has slowed and the economy may shrink this year as the government introduces austerity measures.
“The idea is not to restructure the economy as much as to seize the opportunities available that we didn’t address before. We have high capacity and we use only a little.”
The Crown Prince said Saudi Arabia’s dispute with neighboring Qatar had not affected investment.
“Qatar is a very, very, very small issue,” he said.
Saudi Arabia and three Arab allies cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar earlier this year over accusations Doha supported Islamic “terrorists.” Qatar denies the allegations.
He said the kingdom’s war in Yemen would continue in order to prevent the Houthi armed movement from turning into another “Hezbollah” on Saudi’s southern border.
“We’re pursuing until we can be sure that nothing will happen there like Hezbollah again, because Yemen is more dangerous than Lebanon,” he said.
Saudi Crown Prince reveals Neom megacity to be listed
Saudi Crown Prince reveals Neom megacity to be listed
Saudi stock market opens its doors to foreign investors
RIYADH: Foreigners will be able to invest directly in Saudi Arabia’s stock market from Feb. 1, the Kingdom’s Capital Market Authority has announced.
The CMA’s board has approved a regulatory change which will mean the capital market, across all its segments, will be accessible to investors from around the world for direct participation.
According to a statement, the approved amendments aim to expand and diversify the base of those permitted to invest in the Main Market, thereby supporting investment inflows and enhancing market liquidity.
International investors' ownership in the capital market exceeded SR590 billion ($157.32 billion) by the end of the third quarter of 2025, while international investments in the main market reached approximately SR519 billion during the same period — an annual rise of 4 percent.
“The approved amendments eliminated the concept of the Qualified Foreign Investor in the Main Market, thereby allowing all categories of foreign investors to access the market without the need to meet qualification requirements,” said the CMA, adding: “It also eliminated the regulatory framework governing swap agreements, which were used as an option to enable non-resident foreign investors to obtain economic benefits only from listed securities, and the allowance of direct investment in shares listed on the Main Market.”
In July, the CMA approved measures to simplify the procedures for opening and operating investment accounts for certain categories of investors. These included natural foreign investors residing in one of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, as well as those who had previously resided in the Kingdom or in any GCC country.
This step represented an interim phase leading up to the decision announced today, with the aim of increasing confidence among participants in the Main Market and supporting the local economy.
Saudi Arabia, which is more than halfway through an economic plan to reduce its dependence on oil, has been trying to attract foreign investors, including by establishing exchange-traded funds with Asian partners in Japan and Hong Kong.
