Is the transaction permissible in which shares in the Saudi market are purchased for non-residents through a swap agreement, whereby the brokerage firm retains ownership of the shares and the foreign investor obtains only the economic benefit without voting rights, and has the right to cash distributions and bonus shares, and the right to determine the decision to sell or buy?

The brokerage firm's retention of share ownership and its failure to transfer it to the foreign buyer contradicts one of the most important effects of a sales contract, which is the transfer of ownership. The seller is not entitled to retain ownership of the sold item after the sale, as stated in the resolution of the Islamic Fiqh Academy. Ownership is established for the buyer, who has the right to dispose of the owned item through sale, gift, or inheritance. If the seller does not have the right to retain ownership, then how can the intermediary, who is neither a seller nor a buyer, do so? Therefore, classifying the contract as a sale and purchase between the investor and the brokerage firm is incorrect.