MIDEAST STOCKS-Conservative ownership rules may slow Saudi uptrend
 

The rise of Saudi Arabia's bourse may pause on Sunday after the kingdom's stock market regulator published on Thursday restrictive draft rules for direct foreign ownership of shares - though the market had largely expected a conservative approach. The Capital Market Authority proposed limiting total foreign ownership of the market's value to 10 percent, and to cap it for each listed company at 5 percent for a single foreign investor and 20 percent for all foreign institutions combined. The draft rules also require foreign funds to have at least $5 billion of assets under management, and investment experience of ** less than five years in order to buy Saudi stocks. Such strict rules - which the authorities will **w discuss with the market before finalising - indicate the CMA is likely to allow only slow inflows of foreign money when the region's largest stock market opens up early next year.

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