Reuters: Saudi Arabia, China in talks to list exchange-traded ‎funds

Three informed sources said that two stock exchanges from Saudi Arabia and China are in talks to allow the exchange of listing exchange traded funds in each of them, as the two countries look to deepen financial relations amid a warming in diplomatic relations.

According to “Reuters”, the sources said that the talks are in the early stages, and could represent the first big step by Beijing and Riyadh towards expanding the scope of cooperation to include sectors other than energy, security and sensitive technology.

Two sources said that the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, one of the two main stock exchanges in mainland China, is in negotiations with the Saudi Tadawul Group, the operator of the Kingdom’s stock exchange, regarding a program called ETF Connect, in reference to linking exchange-traded funds between them. ,

For China, such linkage with Saudi Arabia will be the first of its kind outside the East Asian region and confirms the country’s commitment to opening its financial markets, worth trillions of dollars, to international investors.

One of the sources said that some of the managers of the largest exchange-traded funds in China have been notified in recent months of the possibility of concluding a mutual listing agreement with Saudi Arabia, and that some of them are studying this option.