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An exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking stocks in Saudi Arabia is expected to list on the Tokyo stock exchange.
Japan’s SBI Holdings is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi sovereign-backed Public Investment Fund (PIF) and telecommunications company National Technology Group to create an ETF tracking Saudi shares through its asset management company, with an eye on eventually listing it on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), Nikkei Asia reported.
The TSE will make the decision on whether the ETF can go public in accordance with its listing standards. An ETF tracking Saudi shares would be a first for TSE.
SBI is also expected to enter a financial cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia’s largest electric company, the same report added, with further plans call for cooperating with the kingdom’s oil company Saudi Aramco to support Japanese startups moving into the kingdom.
An announcement was expected following a state visit to Japan by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week, which was eventually postponed late Sunday following Saudi King Salman undergoing treatment for a lung inflammation in Jeddah.
A possible Saudi ETF on the TSE comes in the wake of the kingdom developing other key sectors as part of its Vision 2030 programme to end its reliance on its traditional oil and gas income. In November last year, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) also announced the listing of Asia Pacific’s first ETF to track Saudi Arabian equities, the CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF, providing investors with the opportunity to invest in the kingdom’s capital markets through a Hong Kong-listed ETF.
(Reporting by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)
