StanChart gains Saudi fund mandate

Standard Chartered Capital Saudi Arabia has secured regulatory clearance to manage investments and operate funds in the kingdom, giving the London-listed banking group a wider platform in one of the Gulf’s fastest-expanding capital markets.

The approval from the Capital Market Authority allows the company to run discretionary portfolios and establish investment funds under Saudi securities rules. The clearance follows completion of commencement-of-business requirements tied to an approval dated 5 May 2025, marking a formal step from authorisation to active operations in the asset-management segment.

The move positions Standard Chartered to deepen its engagement with institutional investors, family offices and high-net-worth clients at a time when Saudi Arabia is accelerating reforms aimed at broadening capital-market participation, attracting foreign capital and expanding domestic savings channels. The firm already has a capital-markets presence in the kingdom through Standard Chartered Capital Saudi Arabia, a closed joint stock company established in 2009 with share capital of SR100 million and owned by Standard Chartered Group.

Saudi Arabia’s asset-management industry has grown sharply as pension funds, sovereign-linked entities, insurers, corporates and private investors seek broader exposure to public equities, sukuk, private credit, real estate, infrastructure and alternative assets. Assets under management in the Saudi capital market exceeded SR1 trillion at the end of 2024 and continued to expand through 2025, creating stronger demand for licensed managers with local regulatory standing and global investment reach.

For Standard Chartered, the new permission broadens a Saudi franchise that has developed in stages. Its capital-markets arm has long provided activities such as arranging, advising, custody, underwriting and dealing services. The group’s banking branch began operations in the kingdom in 2021 after receiving approval from the Saudi Central Bank, strengthening its ability to serve corporates, financial institutions and sovereign-related clients across funding, trade, markets and cross-border flows.

The timing is significant. Saudi Arabia has been liberalising market access, including changes that opened the main market of the Saudi Exchange to wider categories of foreign investors from February 2026. The reforms removed key elements of the previous qualified foreign investor framework, although ownership limits and other regulatory controls remain in place. For global banks and asset managers, the new environment increases the value of having locally licensed entities that can structure, manage and distribute products within the kingdom’s regulatory system.

Riyadh’s policy direction has also encouraged international financial groups to expand physical and regulatory footprints in the country. Global banks, investment houses and asset managers have been competing for mandates linked to listings, debt issuance, mergers, infrastructure finance, sovereign wealth activity and private capital deployment. The Public Investment Fund and other state-linked institutions remain major anchors in the market, but private-sector participation and locally domiciled investment products are becoming more important to the financial-sector strategy.

Standard Chartered’s clearance gives it the ability to develop funds and discretionary portfolios that could connect Saudi capital with regional and global opportunities. It also allows the bank to compete more directly with domestic investment firms and international managers that have expanded in Riyadh, including those focused on equities, fixed income, sukuk, private markets and Sharia-compliant products.

The approval does not remove competitive pressures. Saudi Arabia’s investment-management market is already served by large local players attached to major banks, specialist boutiques, regional managers and global firms with established client networks. Fee pressure, product differentiation, distribution strength and investment performance will shape how quickly new mandates can be won. Regulatory compliance, governance and risk controls will also remain central, particularly as the CMA continues to align local market structures with international standards while preserving investor protection.

The development comes as Saudi Arabia seeks to deepen its capital markets under Vision 2030, with a focus on liquidity, private-sector growth and diversification away from oil revenue. Expanding the licensed fund-management base is part of that shift, as policymakers encourage more professionally managed capital, broader savings products and deeper links between domestic investors and global markets.