The Capital Market Authority (CMA) said the Kingdom has achieved advanced positions in a number of global competitiveness indicators related to the financial market, as per its annual report for the fiscal year 2020, thanks to the efforts made by the Authority to develop the financial market sector and apply the best international practices. CMA's Undersecretary for Strategic and International Affairs Yazid bin Saleh Al-Dumaiji, noted that the Kingdom ranked 24 for the year 2020 compared to 26 in 2019, in the global competitiveness of the International Institute for Administrative Development (IMD), among the most competitive 63 countries in the world, adding that KSA advanced in six indicators, the most prominent of which is the stock market capitalization index (as a percentage of GDP), as it jumped from 26 in 2019 to second place in 2020. Moreover, he said, KSA jumped from 33rd to 20th place in the easy access to financial markets index, and from 36 to 4th place in the IPO Index. Al-Dumaiji pointed out that the CMA has secured a number of international achievements during the year 2020, including the re-election of Khaled Al-Hammoud as member of the Board of the Financial Market Authority, and member of the Board of Directors of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), hosting two virtual training programs on (Financial Technology Challenges from the Supervisory Perspective of Capital Markets), and (Introduction to Securities and Investment), in cooperation with the Union of Arab Securities Authorities, and participation of a number of employees of the member bodies, as well as participants from stock exchanges and parties related to the financial market sector. The Authority also participated in the development of a special index related to investor protection in the Islamic capital markets, which was recently issued by the Islamic Financial Services Board, which specifies the minimum requirements that must be applied in those markets. Al-Dumaiji noted that the Authority has received 150 applications to the Financial Technology Laboratory, which CMA launched in 2018 stemming from its continued support for the financial technology projects in the financial market in the Kingdom, an initiative of the Financial Leadership Program.
