Record surge: Saudi women investors in stock market reach 1.74 million

Dubai: The number of women investing in the Saudi stock market has surpassed 1.74 million for the first time, according to figures released by the Capital Market Authority, representing a milestone in the participation of women in the region’s largest financial exchange.

At the end of the second quarter of 2025, there were 1.746 million female investors, an increase of 26,000 from the previous quarter and 94,300 more than in the same period a year earlier, when the total stood at 1.65 million. 

The figure is the highest on record and reflects a steady rise in women’s presence in the equity market.

Male investors also increased, reaching 5.16 million by June, up 112,400 from the first quarter of 2025 and 339,000 more than a year earlier, when the number stood at 4.82 million.

Altogether, the number of individual investors in the Saudi stock market climbed to 6.9 million, also the highest level ever recorded. 

Investment accounts held by individuals rose to nearly 13.91 million portfolios by the end of the second quarter, up from 13.56 million three months earlier.

This comes at a time that  Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) is studying the feasibility of opening the Saudi stock market to all investors worldwide, according to a statement given to Bloomberg.

The CMA said that the recent move to allow residents of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to trade directly in the Saudi market was a “logical and natural” step, citing strong economic, social, and regulatory ties across the region. Notably, these residents will remain eligible to trade even if they relocate outside the Gulf.

Foreign investors from outside the GCC accounted for a record 35 per cent of Saudi equity purchases during the second quarter of 2025, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Saudi Arabia has ramped up its push to attract high-frequency trading firms, broadened the diversity of its IPO pipeline, and relaxed some restrictions for foreign participation in the equity market.

In July, Saudi-listed shares on the Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) were trading at a 32 per cent discount compared to stocks on the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI), based on forward price-to-earnings ratios.