Short answer: use Interactive Brokers. Since October 2024, IBKR has offered foreign retail individuals direct access to the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul), routed through SNB Capital — the first such route in history. You enable Saudi Exchange trading permission inside an ordinary IBKR account: no Saudi visit, no local Saudi bank account. Saudi Arabia then went further — on 1 February 2026 the Capital Market Authority (CMA) scrapped the old institutional-only Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI) framework and opened the Main Market to all foreign investor categories. If you only want diversified exposure rather than single Saudi names, the US-listed ETFs KSA and FLSA are the simplest option, buyable from any Western broker.
The IBKR route, step by step
- Open (or log in to) an Interactive Brokers account.
- In your account settings, add Saudi Arabia (Tadawul) to your stock trading permissions. IBKR routes Saudi-side custody and execution through SNB Capital (Saudi National Bank’s capital-markets arm).
- Fund the account; IBKR is multi-currency and converts to SAR at settlement, so you don’t need to pre-hold riyals.
- Trade Tadawul-listed equities, REITs and ETFs directly.
That’s the whole thing — the friction that used to wall Saudi off (the QFI institutional minimums) is gone for retail via this path. Local Saudi brokers are theoretically open to foreign individuals after the February 2026 liberalization, but remain practically untested for foreign retail; the IBKR infrastructure is already proven.
Can you buy Aramco?
Yes — but only on Tadawul. Saudi Aramco (2222) has no foreign listing (no ADR or GDR, despite years of talk about an international secondary listing), so there is nothing to buy abroad. To hold Aramco directly, you buy it on Tadawul via IBKR. For indirect exposure, the KSA ETF holds Aramco (subject to MSCI’s single-stock cap).
The ETF shortcut
If you want Saudi beta without picking single stocks, two US-listed funds give it from any standard Western broker:
- KSA — iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF.
- FLSA — Franklin FTSE Saudi Arabia ETF.
These are the easiest way in if diversified MENA/Saudi exposure is all you need.
Full detail
The Saudi Arabia country page covers the major Tadawul names (banks, petrochemicals, telecoms, the Vision 2030 IPO pipeline), the REIT universe, and the verification behind all of the above. The IBKR profile covers the broker itself.
Last updated 15 June 2026. Based on IBKR’s October 2024 Saudi Exchange announcement and the CMA’s February 2026 foreign-investor liberalization. I have an IBKR account but have not separately tested Saudi permission activation — confirm current permissions and fees in your own account before funding.