A Saudi online brokerage firm is trying to capitalise on the Kingdom’s opening of the stock market to international investors. Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority has begun allowing foreign investors to buy shares directly on the Tadawul’s main market, effective February 1, 2026.
They have scrapped the long-standing Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI) programme. The previous framework only allowed large institutions to make investments.
That reform significantly lowers the barrier to entry for overseas investors and gives platforms like Sahm a timely opportunity to widen access to Saudi equities. Sahm says its app offers trading across both Saudi and American markets in a single interface, along with real-time data, analytics tools, and educational content, while the company operates under Capital Market Authority licenses covering dealing, custody, advising, arranging, managing investments, and fund operation.
The broader market backdrop is substantial. Saudi Tadawul Group’s total market capitalisation reached approximately USD 2.6 trillion as of January 2026, emphasising the scale of the exchange Sahm is integrating into. The Saudi Exchange also reported a total foreign holding value of SAR 443.78 billion, or about USD 118.34 billion, at the end of February 2026.
Foreign interest had already been building before the rules changed. By the end of Q3 2025, international investors’ ownership in the Saudi capital market had exceeded SAR 590 billion, with roughly SAR 519 billion invested in the Main Market, up from SAR 498 billion at the end of 2024. That trend suggests the market opening is an acceleration of an existing shift rather than a sudden break with the past.
Sahm has also posted rapid user growth. Company-linked announcements said the platform surpassed one million users within its first year and maintained close to 70% year-on-year user growth in its second year. Earlier reporting also described Sahm Capital as a venture linked to Hong Kong’s Valuable Capital Group and eWTP Arabia Capital.
For investors, the opportunity comes with limits. Saudi rules still maintain foreign ownership caps, including a 49% aggregate ceiling and a 10% limit for a single foreign investor in many cases, even as access has widened. In other words, Sahm may help open the digital front door, but Riyadh’s market opening and not the app itself is the real business story.