As regional equity markets experience a period of summer turbulence, Gulf regulators are stepping up efforts to repair a reputation for insider trading and market manipulation.

To improve transparency, the Saudi Capital Markets Authority last week started to disclose the names of shareholders who hold more than a five per cent stake in listed companies.

This revealed the fact that several government agencies are leading holders of Saudi stocks.

One of these institutions, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, owns 377 billion Saudi riyals ($101 billion) of shares in 18 companies.

Gulfnews: Gulf crackdown on market manipulators intensifies