Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Tadawul, Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, on Tuesday announced that it is set to launch trading in derivative products on Aug. 30, 2020.

The move aims to further enhance the growth of the Kingdom’s capital markets by creating new opportunities for investors, providing them with hedging tools to manage risk, and to expand exposure opportunities to the Saudi market, one of the largest and most liquid markets in the world.

The first derivative that will be traded will be an index futures contract, the Saudi Futures 30, based on the MSCI Tadawul 30 index.

Commenting on the scheduled launch, Khalid Al Hussan, chief executive of Tadawul, said: "Today, we can proudly say that our capital market is not only the largest in the region but also developing faster than most exchanges in terms of both the products and the services we offer. The introduction of derivatives trading is further evidence of our commitment to providing our investors with diversified, innovative products and services to meet all their needs."

"The launch of the Derivatives Market in Saudi Arabia as one of the Financial Sector Development Program’s key initiatives under the Saudi Vision 2030 is a significant step in introducing sophisticated market products and creating a trading environment attractive to local as well as international hedgers and traders," Al Hussan added.