JEDDAH, 15 May 2007 — In another move to strengthen the Kingdom’s stock market, the Saudi Capital Authority (CMA) has issued a new draft bill that aims to regulate the merger and acquisition (M&A) processes for companies listed on the bourse.
The new bill also aims to protect investors, granting equal information and providing sufficient time for investors to consider the situation before taking decisions.
The bill covers a number of issues such as obliging companies involved in merger and acquisition to take independent consultation from a CMA-licensed financial adviser, and regulating acquisition packages that include conflicts of interest. In a related development, Samba Group has introduced for the first time a system direct exchange through mobile. The service allows Samba clients to follow up stock market developments and carry out selling and purchase of shares quickly.
Eissa Al-Eissa, chief executive officer of Samba, said the new mobile service was introduced as part of the bank’s efforts to extend advanced services to its clients and facilitate their investments.
In order to receive the service, clients should activate the Internet service (GPRS) on their cell phones, the bank said, adding that those that have 3.5G can avail of speedier services. “We have adopted a number of measures to make transactions through cell phones safe and secure,” the CEO said.
Meanwhile, the CMA has also approved a new program for the exchange of stocks presented by Gulf Canada International. Under the new program, investors need not stand in front of Tadawul screens at the opening of the market, thus avoiding a lot of family and work-related problems.
Ibrahim Almotawa, director general of the company, said they were coordinating with Saudi Telecom to link the program with ATMs with a speed of 12 megabytes. He added that the Gulf Investor program was prepared with high technology in both English and Arabic to meet the requirements of investors and the stock market.
