Saudi Arabia scrapped its Qualified Foreign Investor status. It kept the 49 percent cap. Background On 1 February 2026, Saudi Arabia's Capital Market Authority implemented amendments to the Rules for Foreign Investment in Securities, opening the Kingdom's capital market to all categories of foreign investors for direct investment on the Tadawul, the Saudi stock exchange. The reform eliminates the Qualified Foreign Investor status that had gated direct market access since 2015

Most investor-state research studies treaties. UNCTAD's newest report studies statutes instead — and finds the same risks hiding in plainer sight. Background UNCTAD published Investment Policy Monitor, Issue No. 32, on 4 December 2025, under the title Investor–State Arbitration under Investment Laws: Risks and Policy Lessons. It builds on the earlier Investment Policy Monitor No. 29, which had tracked global trends in the drafting of national investment laws, and turns instea

UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2025 shows FDI falling for a second straight year, down sharply in Europe and up in North America. What the split means.