RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s buoyant stock market had the largest capitalization in the region in 2023, according to a new analysis. Financial research conducted by Emirates News Agency, also known as WAM, noted the Kingdom’s exchange, Tadawul, generated gains of $368.2 billion to catapult its market capitalization beyond the $3 trillion threshold by the end of last year, compared to $2.63 trillion in 2022. The figures align with the broader surge in Arab stock markets in 2023, with combined gains of $493 billion, primarily driven by robust performances in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. WAM further said that the UAE has added $117.5 billion to its market value, reaching $990.6 billion by the end of 2023. The report argued that this feat was fueled by robust growth on both the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market. The analytical study highlighted that the ADX saw an addition of $88.8 billion to its capitalization, reaching $803.4 billion. Concurrently, the DFM experienced an increase of $28.7 billion, elevating its total market value to $187.2 billion. In its analysis, the agency stated that Egypt’s stock exchange also posted impressive gains, adding $16.8 billion and expanding its market value to $55.6 billion, adding that Bourse de Casablanca soared $9.6 billion to $63.2 billion while the Beirut Stock Exchange surged $5.9 billion to $20.4 billion. Qatar Stock Exchange maintained momentum, adding $4.5 billion to reach $171.6 billion. Meanwhile, the analysis found that emerging markets also saw promising gains as Damascus soared to $4.27 billion, while Muscat edged up $170.3 million to $61.8 billion, and Tunisia added $137.5 million to reach $7.9 billion. It also indicated that the Kuwait stock exchange registered $131.6 billion, Muscat Stock Exchange recorded $23.9 billion, Bahrain Bourse noted $20.6 billion, and Palestine Exchange reported $4.62 billion, all as of the end of 2023. As of December 2023, the companies listed on Saudi Arabia’s primary stock market rose 6 percent to 230 in the third quarter compared to 217 in the year-ago period, official data have shown. According to the Capital Market Authority, the Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu listed 67 firms in the third quarter of 2023 compared to 38 in the same period a year before, a 76 percent surge. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the CMA approved the listing of four companies on Nomu. Additionally, five requests for going public were announced to be pending in Tadawul All Share Index and 41 in the parallel market. Regarding ownership values in the primary stock market, the value of qualified foreign investors’ ownership reached SR290.07 billion ($77.37 billion) in the third quarter of 2023 compared to SR280.24 billion in the same period a year before, showing about 3.5 percent annual growth.