Shanghai Stock Exchange signs agreement with Saudi Arabian bourse to explore cross-listings, data sharing as ties between Beijing and Riyadh warm up

The Shanghai Stock Exchange has signed an agreement with the operator of the Saudi Arabian bourse to foster closer ties, in a sign that a recent flurry of cooperation between China and the Gulf nation has extended into the financial area.

The two sides inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Sunday during a visit by a delegation from the Shanghai exchange to Saudi Arabia, the bourse said in a statement on its website on Monday.

Under the agreement, the Shanghai exchange and Saudi Tadawul Group, which owns the Saudi Exchange, will collaborate on cross-listings, financial technology (fintech), environmental, social and governance (ESG) and data exchange. They will share knowledge in the areas of listing businesses and the dual-listings of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to the statement.

“Our partnership with the Shanghai Stock Exchange is an important step towards advancing the growth of the Saudi capital market,” said Khalid Abdullah Al-Hussan, chief executive officer of Tadawul Group, in the statement. “This partnership will help facilitate greater connectivity between Saudi Arabia and China and encourage companies in both countries to consider cross-listing.”

Ties between Beijing and Riyadh have warmed up since President Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia in December, in which the two nations clinched a slew of jumbo deals ranging from technology to energy and infrastructure. Earlier, Saudi Arabia had agreed to settle trade payments in the Chinese currency, a move that promotes the yuan’s internalisation and threatens the US dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency.