RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange has announced the launch of its Fixed Income Market Making Framework to ensure the availability of secondary market liquidity.

The launch of this system will also increase price formation efficiency in the Kingdom’s capital market, according to a press statement.

The move aligns with the Capital Market Authority’s objective of transforming Saudi Arabia’s stock market into a key pillar of the nation’s economy under the directives of Vision 2030’s Financial Sector Development Program.

Introducing the Fixed Income Market Making Framework is a significant step in further developing the Saudi capital market, cementing its position as a leading regional financial hub, the statement added.

“As the Saudi capital market continues to evolve, we have seen an increase in debt issuances in recent years. In response to this growing demand, we have introduced a new Fixed Income Market Making Framework demonstrating our continued efforts to support the development and depth of the debt market and position the Saudi Exchange as a global destination in this field,” said Mohammed Al-Rumaih, CEO of the Saudi Exchange. 

According to the statement, the framework is a strategic initiative to stimulate secondary market activity in the fixed-income sector.

The Saudi Exchange’s decision comes after the successful onboarding of market makers in the equities and derivatives divisions in 2023.

Commonly known as the debt securities or bond market, the fixed-income sector is where companies can issue new debt — the primary market — or buy and sell existing debt securities, known as the secondary market, usually in the form of bonds.

Saudi Exchange said the new framework aims to enhance liquidity and facilitate more frequent transactions, making the Kingdom more attractive to domestic and international investors. 

“We aim to enhance the experience of investing in fixed-income instruments and attract a broader range of investors both regionally and internationally,” added Al-Rumaih. 

Under the Market Making Regulations, market makers are required to be members of the Saudi Exchange. They can conduct activities as principals on their accounts or as agents on behalf of clients. 

Market makers could continuously buy and sell orders for the relevant listed debt security during official trading hours to ensure the availability of liquidity for that listed debt security following the provisions of the Market Making procedures and the agreement, the statement added.

“Saudi Exchange will publish on its website a list of market makers and the securities on which they are performing this activity, and will provide incentives after the obligations are met,” said the exchange in the statement. 

TEL AVIV: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a “last minute crisis” with Hamas was holding up Israeli approval of a long-awaited agreement to pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of hostages. Israeli airstrikes meanwhile killed dozens of people across the war-ravaged territory.
Netanyahu’s office said his Cabinet won’t meet to approve the agreement until Hamas backs down, accusing it of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt to gain further concessions.
Izzat Al-Rashq, a senior Hamas official, said the militant group “is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators.”
US President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced the deal on Wednesday, which is aimed at releasing scores of hostages held in Gaza and winding down a 15-month war that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.
Netanyahu’s office had earlier accused Hamas of backtracking on an earlier understanding that he said would give Israel a veto over which prisoners convicted of murder would be released in exchange for hostages.
Netanyahu has faced great domestic pressure to bring home the scores of hostages, but his far-right coalition partners have threatened to bring down his government if he makes too many concessions.
Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have meanwhile killed at least 48 people over the past day, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires as a way to project strength.
Around half of the dead were women and children, Zaher Al-Wahedi, head of the ministry’s registration department, told The Associated Press. He said the toll could rise as hospitals update their records.
A phased withdrawal and hostage release with potential pitfalls
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel in a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, and the Israeli military believes around a third and up to half of them are dead.
Under the deal reached Wednesday, 33 hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli forces will pull back from many areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be able to return to what’s left of their homes, and there would be a surge of humanitarian assistance.
The remainder of the hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second — and much more difficult — phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to keep fighting until it dismantles the group and to maintain open-ended security control over the territory.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 46,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry. it does not say how many of the dead were militants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced some 90 percent of its population of 2.3 million people, according to the United Nations.
Israel says final details still being worked out
Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US are expected to meet in Cairo on Thursday for talks on implementing the agreement. They have spent the past year holding indirect talks with Israel and Hamas that finally resulted in a deal after repeated setbacks.
President-elect Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy joined the talks in the final weeks, and both the outgoing administration and Trump’s team are taking credit for the breakthrough.
Many longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction after a brutal conflict that has destabilized the broader Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.
Israel has come under heavy international criticism, including from its closest ally, the United States, over the civilian toll in Gaza. It also blames Hamas for the civilian casualties, accusing it of using schools, hospitals and residential areas for military purposes.
The International Court of Justice is investigating allegations brought by South Africa that Israel has committed genocide. The International Criminal Court, a separate body also based in The Hague, has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas commander for war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the war.
Israel and the United States have condemned the actions taken by both courts.
Hamas, a militant group that does not accept Israel’s existence, has come under overwhelming pressure from Israeli military operations, including the invasion of Gaza’s largest cities and towns and the takeover of the border between Gaza and Egypt. Its top leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who was believed to have helped mastermind the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, have been killed.
But its fighters have regrouped in some of the hardest-hit areas after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, raising the prospect of a prolonged insurgency if the war continues.