JEDDAH: The Saudi bourse has given permission to construction firm Mohammad Al-Mojil Group (MMG) to have its suspended shares traded over the counter, it said.

Shares in the company have not traded since July 2012, when they were suspended by the regulator after breaching rules relating to accumulated losses.

However the Capital Market Authority ruled in September it would allow off-market — over-the-counter — trading of shares in companies which had been suspended or delisted from the exchange.

The concession appeared designed to help shareholders realize some value from such companies as the regulator reforms the market in preparation for its opening to direct foreign investment early next year.