RIYADH, 5 August 2005 — Commercial cover-up is a very popular term in the Saudi market where non-Saudis own business in the Saudi market hiding behind Saudi names.
Any Saudi man that enters any grocery shop these days will notice whether a Saudi or non-Saudi owns the business. Most of the time the business are owned by non-Saudis by using the same name as a cover-up for their hidden jobs, Al-Hayat newspaper reported.
The Ministry of Commerce is fighting commercial cover-up for many decades now. Every year, the list of punishments are issued by the ministry to fight violators but it has little effect. If cases are discovered, then it will be very hard to prove it. It first started in the 70s during the economic boom.
At first it was limited on small institutions, import and export business and commercial agents for foreign companies. As the years passed, almost all the businesses now in the streets and markets are owned by non-Saudis who use the names of Saudis for a percentage of a fixed monthly amount.
A Saudi businessman and member of Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and specialized in stock investment said that commercial cover-up invaded the Saudi stock market under the name of investment cover-up.
Now non-Saudis are using the Saudi names to invest in stocks and manage bank portfolios. They invest their money in bank portfolios using Saudi names. Some non-Saudis signed letters with Saudis using their name saying that the money they are investing are their money and signed by witnesses. Such letters will put the local court in confusion because there is no law that allows non-Saudis to invest in stock market. Many observers believe that the Saudi government will allow non-Saudis to invest directly in the stock market.
