JEDDAH: The Capital Market Authority (CMA) has increased the number of times a candidate can sit for CME-1 exams from four to five.
The exam is a mandatory CMA requirement for anyone applying to be a “Registered Person” and conduct security business. The move comes as a big relief to candidates as well as authorized persons sponsoring them.
The Saudi stock market regulator announced the changes in the administration of the examination in a circular sent to 110 finance companies registered with CMA as authorized persons.
The examination is conducted in Riyadh, Jeddah and Alkhobar by Al-Khaleej Training and Education Company. The CMA has also “revised and improved” the preparatory materials “to reflect higher standards and industry feedback,” says the circular.
The number of seats per examination has been increased to 40 in each of the examination centers.
Attendance of the preparatory training course is optional for the first three attempts. But it has been made mandatory for the fourth. “Finance companies which hire new professionals ask them to clear the CME-1 as soon as possible because they cannot deal with CMA without passing the exam with at least 70 percent marks,” said a management expert in Jeddah.
The expert, a graduate of a British university who cleared the CME-1 recently, said that only last month his company fired three people because they were unable to clear the exam.
Chairman, non-executive board members and CEOs of an authorized person are exempted from CME-1 requirement.
Any person in Saudi Arabia with the minimum high school qualification can register and sit the exam. CME-1 certificate is meant to ensure that authorized persons in the Kingdom have enough suitably qualified people to undertake securities business. The new rule will be effective from Feb. 1.
