Saudi Arabia

Capital Market Authority (CMA) is an independent financial regulatory body that is charged with overseeing, developing, and regulating the capital markets of Saudi Arabia. As one of the pillars of the economic landscape of Saudi Arabia, CMA enjoys total financial, legal, and administrative independence and reports directly to the Prime Minister. The main responsibility of this regulatory body is to ensure that there is a transparent, sound, and highly competitive investment environment by regulating security issuance, licensing financial intermediaries, guaranteeing strict disclosure of information, and shielding investors from fraudulent transactions. Under the overriding vision of Saudi Vision 2030, CMA serves as the chief architect in internationalizing the Tadawul (Saudi Stock Exchange) by eliminating all traditional barriers to foreign direct investment in order to make the country a global capital market hub.

Ministry of Commerce in Saudi Arabia is the body of the government charged with regulating and developing the business sector and trade policies of the kingdom. In line with the economic diversification strategies of Saudi Vision 2030, the ministry makes concerted efforts to provide an environment that is favorable, competitive, and inspiring to the private sector. The ministry is under the leadership of Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al Kassabi, and it is mandated with national responsibilities such as drafting laws and regulations on commerce, consumer protection, e-commerce, and commercial registrations.

SAMA, known by the acronym from the early period in its history, is the central bank of Saudi Arabia and functions as the main regulator of the financial sector in the kingdom. Being an autonomous body accountable only to the King of Saudi Arabia, the main duties of SAMA include the issuance of the official currency of Saudi Arabia, which is the Saudi Riyal, regulation of foreign exchange reserves, and maintenance of a fixed exchange rate of the currency with the US dollar. Within its main scope of work, the bank regulates commercial banking, insurance, finance firms, and electronic payments, using advanced fintech systems to facilitate economic objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

The Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) is the primary governmental body that oversees the implementation and regulation of the country’s data and artificial intelligence agenda. As a financial and administrative entity that acts independently and reports directly to the Prime Minister of the country, SDAIA is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and considers data to be an essential economic resource. The organization serves the purpose of implementing the technological revolution of the Kingdom within the framework of Saudi Vision 2030 through the functioning of three specific branches – NDMO, NCAI, and NIC.

The Saudi Arabia Financial Investigation Unit (SAFIU), alternatively referred to as the General Directorate of Financial Intelligence, is the Kingdom's national financial intelligence body that works independently with the objective of securing the financial sector from any form of criminal activity. This organization functions under the direct supervision of the Presidency of State Security [1.41]. The Saudi Arabia Financial Investigation Unit plays an important role in fighting against money laundering and other kinds of financial crimes within the country. The unit acts as a link between the private financial sector and law enforcement agencies.