RIYADH: The Capital Market Authority’s Board approved opening the Parallel Market to holders of a bachelor’s degree in several securities-related specialties, allowing them to qualify as eligible investors in the Parallel Market. 

This comes as part of a package of amendments and facilitations approved for several new criteria and the easing of the requirements that investors must meet to qualify for inclusion in the category of eligible investors permitted to trade and invest in the Parallel Market. 

The decision aims to expand the investor base in the Parallel Market “Nomu,” which will enhance liquidity and positively reflect on the market. 

According to the decision, which took effect immediately, graduates with a bachelor’s degree in finance, investment, or accounting are now eligible to invest in the Parallel Market. 

This enables new categories of investors to join those already classified as qualified investors, including holders of master’s degrees in finance, accounting, or any field related to securities, as well as those holding professional certifications such as the SOCPA fellowship or other previously approved professional qualifications. 

The approved amendments included easing the criteria for individual investors who wish to enter and invest in the Parallel Market – Nomu. 

Under the approved framework, an investor must have executed trades with a total value of SR20 million ($5.33 million) in the capital market in general during the past 12 months, whereas the previous requirement mandated completing at least 10 quarterly trades with a value of SR40 million during the same period. 

This means eliminating the quarterly trade requirement and applying it over the entire last year, while reducing the minimum threshold to SR20 million. 

In addition, the term “qualified investor in the Parallel Marke” is now explicitly dedicated to the categories permitted to invest in the market. 

The decision also approved allowing anyone who currently serves, or has previously served, as a member of the board of directors or a member of specialized committees emanating from the board of directors of companies listed on the Parallel Market to invest in this market. 

In March, the CMA published “The Draft to Develop the Categories of Investors in the Parallel Market” on the Unified Electronic Platform for Consulting the Public and Government Entities, affiliated with the National Competitiveness Center and the CMA’s website.