Albilad Capital has launched the Horizon Trading Solutions platform to upgrade its market-making and brokerage infrastructure, placing execution speed, automated order management and real-time monitoring at the centre of its capital markets strategy.The Riyadh-based investment firm said the deployment marks a strategic step in strengthening its technology base as the Saudi capital market expands in size, product range and foreign investor access. The platform is designed to support market-making and trading services through algorithmic order management, automated execution and tighter operational control across active trading workflows.
Horizon’s system brings an order management framework that can execute instructions without direct manual intervention, allowing trading desks to respond more quickly to price movements and order-flow changes. For brokerage clients, the practical effect is expected to be faster processing, better monitoring of market conditions and improved execution quality during periods of higher activity.
The launch also signals a broader shift among Saudi financial institutions towards deeper electronic trading capacity. Market-making has become a more important element of the kingdom’s capital market agenda as regulators and exchange operators seek to improve liquidity, narrow bid-offer spreads and support more efficient price discovery across equities, exchange traded funds, fixed income products and derivatives.
Albilad Capital’s move comes after the Saudi Exchange introduced a dedicated market-making framework for exchange traded funds, effective from 8 February 2026, to strengthen secondary-market liquidity and create better conditions for issuers and investors. The framework offers trading fee incentives to market makers that meet obligations covering bid-ask spreads, minimum order sizes and market presence.
The technology partnership also gives Albilad Capital a stronger platform as access to the Saudi market broadens. Foreign investment rules changed from 1 February 2026, opening the Main Market to all foreign investors and removing the earlier Qualified Foreign Investor route that governed direct access for many non-resident participants. That reform is expected to increase the importance of reliable trading infrastructure, custody integration and execution capability among local financial institutions competing for institutional flows.
Albilad Capital, the investment arm of Bank Albilad, was established in 2008 with paid-up capital of SAR500 million and is licensed by the Capital Market Authority to conduct dealing, arranging, advisory, custody, investment management and fund operation activities. Its services cover brokerage, custody, corporate finance, investment banking advisory, investment funds and discretionary portfolio management, with a Sharia-compliant product focus.
Horizon Trading Solutions, headquartered in Paris, provides electronic trading and algorithmic technology to financial institutions, brokerages and exchanges. Its platform covers agency trading, principal trading, market making, connectivity, managed services, order and execution management, smart order routing and trading tools across asset classes including equities, derivatives, structured products, bonds and digital assets.
Gerald Blondel, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Horizon Trading Solutions, said the platform would help strengthen technical infrastructure and improve performance. He said Horizon’s systems had shown effectiveness in improving efficiency and reducing latency, enabling financial institutions to pursue stronger competitiveness and regulatory compliance.
For Albilad Capital, the launch is not only a technology upgrade but also a positioning exercise in a market where brokerage houses are under pressure to provide faster execution, stronger risk controls and broader service options. Automated trading infrastructure is increasingly becoming a differentiator as product diversity grows and investors seek access to local, regional and global markets through regulated channels.
Saudi Arabia’s exchange landscape is also being shaped by a greater focus on ETFs and cross-border investment products. Albilad Capital has already been active in this segment, including through the Albilad CSOP MSCI Hong Kong China Equity ETF, a Sharia-compliant vehicle giving regional investors exposure to Hong Kong-listed shares, mainly China-linked companies. That product underscored the growing links between Gulf capital and Asian markets, and the same direction is likely to place added weight on scalable trading systems.
Competition among Saudi investment firms is expected to intensify as digital platforms, market-access services and algorithmic tools become more central to client acquisition. Larger institutions are moving beyond conventional brokerage models towards integrated trading ecosystems that combine execution, market data, risk management and post-trade efficiency.
Albilad Capital’s adoption of Horizon’s platform therefore arrives at a point when the Saudi market is trying to deepen liquidity while attracting a wider base of investors. The success of the system will depend on how effectively it improves execution standards, supports market-making obligations and helps the firm handle rising volumes across increasingly diverse products.
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