STC was fined SR100,000 ($26,670) for failing to disclose stock option programs for senior management in its 2009 annual report, the CMA said in a statement.

The The Saudi stock market is gradually opening up to direct foreign ownership amid tough competition from regional bourses and over the past two years the CMA has stepped up efforts to clamp down on irregularities, imposing one jail sentence and revoking the licenses of several brokerage firms for violations.