Saudi King Abdullah Abdulaziz al Saud replaced the head of the kingdom's capital market regulator in a move that is likely to accelerate the opening of the Arab world's largest stock exchange to foreign investors.

Abdulrahman al-Tuweirji, chairman of the Capital Market Authority, or CMA, which was set up by Abdullah to regulate the Saudi exchange and financial services industry, was replaced by Western-educated Mohammad bin Abdulmalek al-Sheikh, a decree carried by official media said on Tuesday.