Saudi Arabia Targets 2017 MSCI Emerging Markets Inclusion

Saudi Arabia, which allowed foreigners direct access to its equities for the first time on Monday, aims to be part of MSCI Inc.’s emerging-markets index in 2017, according to the chief executive officer of the stock exchange.

“Joining MSCI’s emerging-markets index in 2017 is ultimately our target,” Adel Al-Ghamdi said in an interview in London on Monday. “Once foreign investors have had a bit of experience interacting with the framework, they will provide sufficient feedback to MSCI.”