DUBAI: Qatar’s foreign minister has said that the country’s sovereign wealth fund could invest in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states as diplomatic tensions ease following the AlUla agreement.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who is also chairman of the Qatar Investment Authority, told the Financial Times that “if there are opportunities that we see in the future and we see a continuation of the political will of the countries to engage, we are very open.”
He added: “The Qatar Investment Authority is an investment fund that takes its decisions based on business benefit and the feasibility of projects. I am sure that we saw some ambitious opportunities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and if we see opportunities there, the Qatar Investment Authority will certainly explore them.”
The Kingdom is keen to attract foreign investment backing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious plans to modernize the Saudi economy and overhaul its dependency on oil.
The minister said that Doha had agreed to suspend legal cases against Saudi Arabia and its allies, including lawsuits filed at the World Trade Organization and the International Court of Justice. “When it comes to the appropriate schedule, these legal cases should then be terminated,” he added.
He said that through the easing of tensions in the region, “every state is a winner.”
However, the minister warned that Qatar “will not change relations” with Iran and Turkey, in a sign that it has made few concessions after securing a deal with Saudi Arabia and its allies to end a bitter dispute between the rival Gulf states.
“Doha had agreed to cooperate on fighting against terrorism and transnational security with Saudi Arabia and three states that had imposed an embargo on Qatar,” he said, adding that “bilateral relationships are mainly driven by a sovereign decision of the country and national interest.
“That is why there is no effect on our relationship with any other country.” he said.
“We hope that things take the steps to come back to normal within a week from the signing.
“It will take some steps among the countries to rebuild the relationship. There will be differences and some pending issues that will be discussed bilaterally between the countries, as each country has a different set of disagreements with Qatar,” the minister added.
Qatar FM: Sovereign fund could invest in Saudi Arabia as tensions ease
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Qatar FM: Sovereign fund could invest in Saudi Arabia as tensions ease
- The minister said that Doha had agreed to suspend legal cases against Saudi Arabia and its allies
- He said that through the easing of tensions in the region, “every state is a winner”
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.
