Tuesday, 16 May 2006, 13:54 GMT 14:54 UK Saudi king plans 'risk-free fund' Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah plans to set up a risk-free investment fund in a bid to attract small investors to the country's flagging stock market. Saudi citizens will be able to invest up to 500,000 riyals ($133,000; £70,600), in the bourse - buying and selling on the market for two years. The individuals can keep any gains but the state will absorb losses. King Abdullah did not give a starting date for the scheme - which could attract up to 3 million investors. However he said he was "determined" to implement it. "The fund will be for people of limited income, employees and others...this group matter most to me," he said. "If they win then this is their luck, with God's will, and if they lose, then their capital is preserved with us," the monarch said. Raise standards The Saudi stock market has lost more than half its value in the last two months, denting confidence in the government as hundreds of thousands of ordinary Saudis lost money. The king has blamed wealthy speculators for manipulating the market and hopes the fund will bring more moderation to the bourse. The plan fits in with King Abdullah's aim of raising living standards, analyst Dawoud al-Shiryan said. "Poverty and unemployment affect terrorism and instability and the king knows the result of this decision, which has important political significance," he added.