Saudi King says no tolerance for stock market manipulators 

(MENAFN - Arab News) Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has called for tough measures against any possible manipulation of the share market, a move welcomed by Kingdom-based stock analysts yesterday.

A spokesperson for the Capital Market Authority (CMA), however, refused to comment on news reports that its Chairman Abdulrahman Al-Tuwaijri had been directed by the king to tighten the CMA's monitoring mechanisms. "With the current return of investors to the stock market, there has been a return of some violations that require investigation and accountability, requiring violators' cases to be looked at by the specialized legal authority," Reuters and daily Alsharq newspaper quoted the king as telling the CMA chief.

Jarmo T. Kotilaine, chief economist at the National Commercial Bank, said: "Curbing manipulative behavior has been a necessary part of the development of virtually any emerging stock market. These calls in Saudi Arabia are in no way exceptional and should be recognized as a necessary step in the evolution of the market."

Farouk Miah, head of equity research at NCB Capital, said: "The CMA has done a good job recently by increasing its watch on the market and chasing down violators of the rules."

Basil Kabbani of Zughaibi & Kabbani Financial Consultants said: "Downfall in the prices of Saudi stocks appears to be casual and perhaps due to institutional profit taking after the close of first-quarter."