The direct result was the emergence of the Saudi Arabian equity market as the largest stock market in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, a formation founded in 1981 between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, by which the countries lifted their trade barriers, and worked to support each other and to achieve common goals. Returning however to the Saudi Arabian equity market, by 2007, it had come to be the largest such market in the GCC region. With a total value of 1.11 trillion Riyals (SAR), or an estimated $295.75 billion, the equity market of Saudi Arabia accounts for 30% of the entire equity market in the Gulf Cooperation Council (Mahmood, 2007).

In spite of these advances, fact remains that the Saudi Arabian equity market is still an emergent market, found in its rather early stages of development. The number of investors is fairly limited, as is in fact their very access. The number of companies raising funds through equity is also reduced. Then, the interest and participation of Saudi Arabian investors is limited. While it is difficult to second-hand asses the populous reactions to the growing equity market, the data so far presented points to a situation in which the domestic population is yet unwilling to embrace a highly developed equity market. This is best revealed by the reduced interest in trading shares on the part of both Saudi Arabian companies, as well as Saudi Arabian investors.

Trading operation on the equity market are then sensitive to cultural features, the most relevant example probably being the Eid...

Aside cultural and demographic factors, the equity market is also sensitive to international movements. In November 2009 for instance, the number and value of the shares traded decreased, as the international price of oil suffered reductions. This virtually means that, despite industry diversification, the equity market remains largely dependent on Saudi Arabia's oil exports. Despite these challenges however, the Saudi Arabian equity market continues to flourish. Its market capitalization reached the value of SAR 1.24 trillion, the approximate equivalent of $329.94 billion (A1Saudi Arabia, 2009), following a gradual, but sustainable growth trend.