The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announces the licensing of Altabdil Finance Company to practice purchase, sale and trading of foreign currencies inside the Kingdom, and import and export of currencies that resulted from a successful merger between Al Natheer Co and Al-Omary Est.

The announcement by SAMA raises the total number of exchange institutions and companies licensed by SAMA to 69.

SAMA took this step as part of its efforts to empower the money exchange sector by encouraging mergers among institutions and companies operating under its supervision, which would in turn enhance the sector's growth and stability and make it more appealing to investors. In a way, those mergers shall improve compliance with the necessary regulatory and supervisory requirements, and greatly contribute to promoting financial stability and to provide new opportunities for growth and economic development within the Kingdom, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

SAMA also affirmed that it will continue to support the exchange sector and to work on raising the effectiveness and flexibility of financial transactions as part of its goal of further promoting the level of financial inclusion within the Kingdom, stressing the importance of exclusively dealing with the SAMA's list of licensed and authorized financial institutions. The list is available on SAMA's website.