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Kamco Invest’s year-end review of GCC trading activity detailed net foreign purchases of $5.5 billion on the Saudi Stock Exchange in 2025. The Abu Dhabi exchange followed with inflows of $3.4 billion while Kuwait saw $1.5 billion. Dubai recorded $1.3 billion in net buying and Qatar posted $171 million according to the Kuwait-based investment firm’s analysis with Oman and Bahrain the only two markets to register net foreign sales at $440 million and $10.3 million respectively.
The report indicated that foreign investors maintained net buying on the Saudi exchange throughout the fourth quarter of 2025 adding $1 billion during those three months. Oman was the only other market to record net purchases in the period at $86.6 million. All remaining GCC bourses saw net selling by foreigners in the final quarter resulting in an overall regional net selling position of $313.5 million for the period according to Kamco Invest data.
“The yearly trend indicated continued positive activity by foreign investors on GCC exchanges in 2025 although total buying declined over the course of the year” Kamco Invest said in the report. The firm noted that Saudi Arabia recorded net foreign buying in each of the three months of the fourth quarter. This pattern signaled rising investor interest even as full-year buying moderated.
Factors influencing foreign money flows included regional market trends the economic health of individual countries and crude oil prices the Kamco Invest assessment found. Strong corporate earnings and ongoing economic reforms across the bloc helped GCC equity markets attract global capital throughout much of the year. A separate Kamco Invest quarterly report showed foreign investors purchased a net $7 billion of GCC stocks in the first half of 2025 a 39.8 percent increase from the same period in 2024.
Markaz research placed Kuwait’s equity market as the second-best performer in the GCC for 2025 with a 21 percent gain trailing only Oman at 28.2 percent. The Saudi Tadawul All Share Index by contrast declined 12.8 percent over the full year even as it drew the largest foreign inflows. The mixed index performance reflected varying paces of non-oil diversification and project implementation across the region according to the Kuwaiti asset management firm.
Kamco Invest’s quarterly report noted that Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority announced a landmark regulatory shift by opening the Tadawul to direct investment by GCC citizens and residents without intermediaries. The change is expected to promote greater openness of the Saudi market internationally while building long-term investment relationships with wider segments of investors. Saudi Exchange ownership reports continued to track rising foreign participation levels consistent with the net inflow trends observed through 2025.
