After a fivefold increase during a run from 2000 to 2006, the Saudi stock market lost two-thirds of its value in downturns in 2006 and 2008.
It is little surprise, then, that falling trading volumes have dented revenues at Al Rajhi Capital, the kingdom’s largest brokerage by market share. Al Rajhi Capital is the investment banking subsidiary of Al Rajhi Bank, the largest commercial bank in the Gulf Co-operation Council countries by market capitalisation, and the largest Islamic bank in Saudi Arabia.
“Our brokerage is our biggest business, so low volumes directly affect us, even though we are the current market leader,’’ says Marcus Andrade, chief executive officer. He says many risk-averse investors have shunned equities for commodities.
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