In Saudi Arabia, Tradeweb has opened an electronic channel for local investors and dealers in the market for riyal-denominated sukuk and bonds. It combines trade execution, clearing and settlement in a single electronic process and is intended to simplify secondary trading, the search for available liquidity and data processing, Asharq Al-Awsat reports.
First transactions on the platform
U.S. company Tradeweb holds a license from Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority to operate in sukuk and debt instruments. Previously, its alternative trading system was available to international investors, and the electronic route is now also being offered to local market participants.
According to Tradeweb, GIB Capital and Saudi Awwal Bank completed the first domestic transaction through the system. The transaction details were sent to the Securities Clearing Center Company, known as Muqassa, for post-trade processing, and then to the Securities Depository Center Company, or Edaa, for settlement.
Under the new procedure, a domestic investor can electronically submit a request for quotation and compare offers from eligible dealers. Once a trade is concluded, its parameters are sent to Muqassa, which forwards settlement instructions to Edaa. Participation is available to professional investors and local dealers that meet registration and account requirements.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Liquidity and pricing
Previously, the execution of domestic transactions and their settlement took place separately, which could require data to be transferred or re-entered into different systems. The linked electronic record is intended to reduce data duplication and manual intervention, as well as facilitate the tracking and auditing of transactions. At the same time, trades remain bilateral, and existing local settlement mechanisms are retained.
Enrico Bruni, managing director and co-head of global markets at Tradeweb, said that electronic trading does not create liquidity on its own, but makes it easier to find and access liquidity that already exists. According to him, broader use of a standardized request-for-quotation process could over time improve pricing and deepen the secondary market.
Tradeweb launched its alternative trading system in Saudi Arabia in October 2025 for international investors. BlackRock, BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs took part in the early transactions. The company also allows for a possible expansion of electronic trading to corporate bonds, repo transactions and derivatives, subject to client demand, available liquidity and regulatory approval.
Download our app
