Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
Saudi, UAE drive GCC assets under management growth to $2.2trln
August 14, 2025--Two countries are among major contributors to growth in mutual funds sector-BCG
The value of assets under management (AUM) across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region expanded by 9% to $2.2 trillion in 2024, according to Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The growth highlights that the region is becoming a global financial hub and that asset managers in the Gulf are poised to compete with big global players in the future, the consultancy firm said on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been cited for driving the expansion of the retail mutual funds sector.
Source: zawya.com
Exchanges get religion in pursuit of Muslim cryptobros
August 12, 2025--Saudi Arabia's Capital Market Authority (CMA) is planning to make investment funds available to the public via the stock markets.
The new initiative, for which it has sought public feedback, allows for certain types of "financing investment funds", which are currently only available through private placements, to be listed on the Main and Parallel Markets of the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).
The move is part of a strategy to diversify investment products for the public, boost the asset management industry and provide new funding channels to support economic growth.
Source: zawya.com
Exchanges get religion in pursuit of Muslim cryptobros
August 8, 2025--Binance launches Islamic investments
Mena's Muslim investors underserved
Gulf hosts 50% of global Islamic assets
Cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance are rolling out halal investment options in an effort to entice Muslim investors.
Tokens backed by gold, platforms that avoid interest-bearing mechanisms, smart contracts designed around Islamic finance principles and tokenised sukuk (Islamic bonds) are just some of the offerings.
The exchanges aim to fill what they see as a gap in the cryptocurrency market for faith-based investors primarily in the Middle East, experts have told AGBI.
Source: agbi.com
Saudi Arabia: 2025 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
August 4, 2025-Summary
As its economic diversification advances, Saudi Arabia has shown strong resilience to external shocks. Non-oil economic activities continue to expand, inflation is contained, and unemployment has fallen to record-low levels.
While lower oil proceeds and investment-linked imports led to the emergence of twin deficits, the country maintains ample external and fiscal buffers.
Source: imf.org
Kuwait bourse to return to debt listing and trade in 2025
July 14, 2025-The Kuwait Stock Exchange will restart the listing and trading of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), sukuk and bonds in 2025, the bourse's CEO Mohammed Saud Al-Osaimi told reporters on Sunday.
The announcement comes months after Kuwait issued a long-awaited debt law to regulate public borrowing as the country prepares for a return to international debt markets after an eight-year absence.
Kuwait needed the new law to mitigate its heavy dependence on oil revenues and reform the economy.
Source: agbi.com
Kuwait bourse to return to debt listing and trade in 2025
July 14, 2025-The Kuwait Stock Exchange will restart the listing and trading of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), sukuk and bonds in 2025, the bourse's CEO Mohammed Saud Al-Osaimi told reporters on Sunday.
The announcement comes months after Kuwait issued a long-awaited debt law to regulate public borrowing as the country prepares for a return to international debt markets after an eight-year absence.
Kuwait needed the new law to mitigate its heavy dependence on oil revenues and reform the economy.
Source: agbi.com
Saudi Arabia: Concluding Statement of the 2025 Article IV Mission
June 26, 2025-- Saudi Arabia's economy has demonstrated strong resilience to shocks, with non-oil economic activities expanding, inflation contained, and unemployment reaching record-low levels. While lower oil proceeds and investment-linked imports led to the emergence of twin deficits, external and fiscal buffers remain ample.
A higher-than-budgeted fiscal stance in 2025 remains appropriate to prevent procyclicality that could exacerbate the growth impact of lower oil prices.
Addressing strong credit growth and associated funding pressures will be crucial in mitigating risks to systemic financial stability. Given the current heightened global uncertainty, continued efforts on structural reform are essential to sustain non-oil growth and drive economic diversification.
RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS[1]
Saudi Arabia's economy has been resilient to shocks. In 2024, non-oil real GDP grew by 4.2 percent, primarily driven by private consumption and non-oil private investment, with retail, hospitality, and construction leading growth.
Source: imf.org
GCC: Growth on the Rise, but Smart Spending Will Shape a Thriving Future
June 19, 2025-Economic growth across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is projected to increase in the medium-term to 3.2% in 2025 and 4.50% in 2026. This growth is likely to be driven by the expected rollback of OPEC+ oil production cuts and robust expansion of non-oil sectors.
According to the latest edition of the Gulf Economic Update (GEU), regional growth was 1.7% in 2024 -an improvement from 0.3% in 2023. The non-hydrocarbon sector remained resilient, expanding by 3.7%--largely fueled by private consumption, investment, and structural reforms across the GCC.
Source: worldbank.org
Saudi Exchange leads market losses across the GCC
June 16, 2025--Tadawul hits 20-month low
Qatar index drops 4%
Fears of a wider regional conflict
The Saudi Exchange closed on Sunday at its lowest level since October 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, as GCC stock markets fell following an escalation in Israel’s conflict with Iran.
Source: agbi.com
Hong Kong and Saudi work on cross-border financial products
May 30, 2025--Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia are considering allowing more cross-border financial products as the two markets seek to deepen financial ties amid rising trade uncertainties.
An exchange-traded fund tracking bonds issued by the Saudi government started trading in Hong Kong on Thursday, the first fixed-income fund listed in the territory to offer such exposure.
Apart from the fund, more products-such as a sharia-compliant sukuk bond and a real estate investment trust -are "in the pipeline" for approval to trade between Hong Kong and Riyadh, said Julia Leung, CEO of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission.
Source: agbi.com
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