瓦埃尔的观点是：沙特阿拉伯的股市存在一些根本性问题，这些问题无法仅仅通过增加上市公司的数量来解决。目前，该股市的监管机构既曾以投资者的身份，也曾以政府官员的身份亲身经历过市场的种种缺陷。
Wael’s view Saudi Arabia’s stock market has problems that cannot be solved simply by listing more companies. It now has a regulator who has lived with the market’s shortcomings, both as an investor and a government official.
沙特证券交易所（Tadawul）的规模已经相当庞大——截至9月24日当周，其市值约为9.30万亿里亚尔（约合2.48万亿美元）。然而，其基准指数在去年经历了十年来最严重的年度跌幅，跌幅达到了12.8%；尽管该地区整体经济保持稳定，沙特的非石油产业也实现了快速增长，但股市依然表现不佳。9月27日，该指数收盘价为10,681.84点。市场的庞大规模掩盖了其实际存在的深度不足、流动性差以及投资者信心低下的问题。
Tadawul is already big, with a market value of about 9.30 trillion riyals ($2.48 trillion) in the week ended Sept. 24. But its benchmark index had its steepest annual decline in a decade last year, falling 12.8% in 2025 despite relative stability in the region and rapid growth in the kingdom’s non-oil economy. The index closed at 10,681.84 on Sept. 27. The market’s size masks a bourse that lacks depth, liquidity, and trust.
这就是上个月被任命为沙特资本市场管理局（Capital Market Authority, CMA）主席的马赞·阿尔-苏达伊里（Mazen Al-Sudairi）所面临的核心挑战。在加入政府之前，阿尔-苏达伊里曾在Al Rajhi Capital公司工作多年，目前他还担任公共投资基金（Public Investment Fund）投资委员会的成员等职务，这使他熟悉沙特政府在评估拟上市资产时的评估标准。
That is the central task facing Mazen Al-Sudairi, appointed last month as chairman of the Capital Market Authority. Al-Sudairi spent years at Al Rajhi Capital before moving into government, where he holds an external seat on Public Investment Fund’s investment committee, among other positions. That gives him an understanding of how the kingdom evaluates assets it plans to bring to public markets.
阿尔-苏达伊里面临的最大挑战之一就是缩小股市与整个经济体系之间的差距。尽管沙特证券交易所是该地区最大的证券交易所，但其市场仍主要由少数几个行业主导，许多受益于沙特“2030愿景”（Vision 2030）转型计划的私营企业并未在股市中获得足够的关注或支持。作为资本市场管理局的主席，阿尔-苏达伊里直接向首相（即王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼）汇报工作，这使他具备了做出大胆决策的权威。
Among Al-Sudairi’s biggest challenges is bridging the gap between the stock market and the broader economy. Tadawul, while the region’s largest exchange, remains dominated by a few sectors and has failed to capture many of the private businesses benefiting from the kingdom’s Vision 2030 transformation. As CMA chairman, Al-Sudairi reports to the prime minister, effectively Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, giving him the institutional weight to make bold decisions.
最近发布的两项法规表明，阿尔-苏达伊里正在采取一些切实可行的措施来改善股市状况：
Two recent circulars suggest he is using the most immediate levers at his disposal.
9月8日，资本市场管理局将公共货币市场基金（public money-market funds）的海外投资比例上限设定为净资产的5%。这类基金属于准存款类产品，是企业和个人短期资金的重要存放渠道。这一措施旨在将更多资金引导至国内金融产品中；不过其能否真正发挥作用，还取决于这些产品能否提供具有竞争力的投资回报。
On Sept. 8, the CMA capped public money-market funds’ foreign investments at 5% of net assets. The funds, which function as a quasi-deposit product, are a major home for short-term corporate and individual liquidity. The measure should redirect more of that money into domestic instruments, although its success will depend on whether the products offer competitive returns.
九天后，沙特证券管理局（CMA）再次提醒上市公司：董事会成员的薪酬必须与个人表现及公司整体业绩紧密挂钩。那些薪酬政策不符合规定的公司必须立即进行整改。虽然该通知并未明确指出具体哪些公司存在问题，但这一警告表明监管机构打算加强对公司治理结构的监督。
Nine days later, the CMA reminded listed companies that board pay must be clearly linked to individual and corporate performance. Companies whose policies fall short must correct them. The circular named no company, but the warning suggests the regulator intends to scrutinize governance more closely.
这一举措源于 PIF（Public Investment Fund）下属的公司治理中心于六月发布的一份研究报告。该报告调查了 345 家上市公司的董事会薪酬情况以及超过 2,400 名董事的薪酬结构。研究发现：仅有 10% 的公司采用了浮动薪酬制度；而那些与政府有密切关系的公司，其董事会成员的薪酬水平甚至超过了市场平均水平的两倍（即使考虑了公司规模和行业因素后也是如此）。
The move followed a June paper from the PIF-affiliated Corporate Governance Center, which studied board pay at 345 listed companies and more than 2,400 directors. It found that only 10% of companies offer variable board compensation, while government-linked firms pay more than double the market average, even after accounting for size and sector.
报告建议公司不仅要公开薪酬数据，还要详细解释其薪酬安排的合理性。沙特证券管理局的这一通知正是基于该中心的建议而制定的。
The paper recommended that companies explain why their pay arrangements are appropriate rather than merely disclose the figures. The CMA’s circular follows the center’s recommendation.
从表面上看，这些措施属于“快速见效”的监管手段——既不需要新的立法，也不需要依赖大规模的上市公司改革来推动执行。然而，这些措施并未从根本上解决沙特股市所面临的核心问题。
Together, the CMA’s measures could be seen as quick wins, and neither required new legislation or getting a huge listing to trade. But neither addresses Tadawul’s deeper problems.
沙特股市在 2006 年达到峰值后至今仍未复苏。投资者在海外拥有许多更优质的投资选择，包括美国科技股、全球投资基金以及流动性更强的股票市场；此外，海外市场还提供了更完善的对冲工具。虽然限制货币市场基金的外币投资比例可能会迫使企业管理层重新配置部分资金，但这并不会提升沙特股市的吸引力。
Saudi Arabian stocks peaked in 2006 and have yet to recover. Investors have compelling alternatives abroad, including US technology stocks, global funds, larger free floats, and better hedging tools. Capping money-market funds’ foreign exposure may force managers to redirect some capital, but it doesn’t make Saudi stocks more attractive.
沙特股市的另一个严重问题是IPO（首次公开募股）市场的问题。根据沙特证券管理局 2025 年的年度报告，当年共有 39 家公司完成了IPO，募集资金达 186.5 亿里亚尔（约合 49.7 亿美元），比 2024 年增长了 41%；但获得批准的首次公开募股申请数量却从 60 项减少到了 36 项。据 Semafor 报道，由于多只上市公司的股价低于发行价，沙特证券管理局正在调查银行在IPO过程中的定价和资金分配方式。
The IPO problem cuts deeper. The CMA’s 2025 annual report shows that 39 public equity offerings raised 18.65 billion riyals ($4.97 billion), up 41% from 2024. Yet approved offering and registration applications fell to 36 from 60. Semafor has reported that the CMA is examining how banks priced and allocated recent IPOs after several listings fell below their offer prices.
散户投资者能够接受市场的波动性；但他们难以接受的是：某些首次公开募股（IPO）的运作方式主要是为了让卖方获取最大利润，而将风险留给了公众。在最近的一些IPO项目中，大部分或全部股票都是由现有股东出售的，而非由公司本身发行以用于业务扩张。
Retail investors can accept volatility. What they struggle to accept is the sense that an IPO was structured chiefly to maximize proceeds for the sellers, leaving the public with the downside. In some recent offerings, most or all of the shares were sold by existing shareholders rather than issued by the company to grow the business.
创始人、企业继承人以及风险投资公司完全有权利将他们的投资变现。但阿尔-苏达伊里（Al-Sudairi）必须明确：Tadawul（沙特证券交易所）的主要职能应该是为企业的下一阶段发展提供资金支持，还是为那些为企业的发展提供资金的人提供退出渠道。
Founders, heirs, and venture firms have every right to monetize. But Al-Sudairi must decide what Tadawul’s primary function should be: financing the next phase of corporate growth, or providing an exit for those who financed the last one.
市场本身就兼具这两种功能；家族企业就是一个典型的例子：这类企业占据了沙特阿拉伯所有企业的95%，并雇佣了私营部门57%的劳动力。如果能让哪怕一小部分家族企业上市，都将比其他由政府支持的“大型上市公司”更能有效地实现市场的多元化。不过，家族企业需要建立合理的治理结构，既能保护外部股东的利益，又不会让创始人担心失去对企业控制权。
The market will always be a mix of both, and one type of company embodies this dichotomy: family businesses. They account for almost 95% of Saudi establishments and employ 57% of private-sector workers. Bringing even a fraction to market would diversify Tadawul more meaningfully than another state-backed mega-listing. But families need governance structures that protect outside shareholders without leaving founders fearful of losing control.
将这些家族企业引入Tadawul市场，只是阿尔-苏达伊里改革目标的一部分——他的目标是让市场交易更加便捷、价格更加透明，并为寻求资金的企业提供更多实际帮助。虽然发布了两份相关文件作为改革的开端，但改革的成功与否，将取决于这些企业是否真正选择在沙特阿拉伯上市以推动自身发展，而不是仅仅为了将资金套现后退出市场。
Getting those companies onto Tadawul is only part of Al-Sudairi’s mission to make the market easier to trade, harder to misprice, and more useful to companies seeking capital. Two circulars are a start, and success will be measured by whether companies list in Saudi Arabia to build rather than whether their owners come simply to leave.
据Semafor报道，沙特阿拉伯的证券监管机构正在调查近期IPO项目的表现不佳问题，同时也正在审查投资银行在推动新上市公司上市过程中所提供的建议。
Notable Saudi Arabia’s stock market regulator is investigating the poor performance of recent IPOs, including looking into the advice given by investment banks as it tries to kickstart new listings, Semafor reported.