Euromoney Saudi Arabia 2019 concludes with the participation of 2,000 experts and specialists and SAR 76 billion in foreign financial flows

Posted in

24/09/2019

<Last week, the Euromoney Saudi Arabia 2019 conference and the accompanying exhibition, organized by Euromoney International in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, concluded at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, in the presence of a number of ministers, heads of the financial system sectors, and a number of officials and specialists in the financial and economic sector at the local and international levels, with more than 2000 participants and a wide selection of the most prominent experts, personalities and decision makers in the financial and investment sectors. (Kingdom Economy)

76 billion riyals of foreign financial flows

During the opening ceremony, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance, announced that the inclusion of the Saudi market in major international indices contributed to attracting foreign financial flows amounting to 76 billion riyals, thus expanding the investor base in the financial market and improving its liquidity levels.

<Al-Jadaan added that 18 new licenses were issued to international financial companies operating in the Kingdom, noting that the Kingdom has achieved significant progress in the minority protection index to the seventh place globally, and IMD's global competitiveness rankings during the current year, advancing 13 places from last year to rank 26th.
Al-Jadaan stressed that the holding of this conference comes after three years of positive progress resulting from the comprehensive reforms that the Kingdom is witnessing in order to achieve the objectives of “Vision 2030”, and confirms the government's commitment to achieving the objectives of the “Vision“, which will lead to a comprehensive economic transformation, a major shift in the structure and performance of the Kingdom's economy, the contribution of the private sector, the accelerated use of technology in many fields, and the high level of services provided in the financial sector, explaining that fiscal policies in the Kingdom focus on achieving a balance between sustaining financial stability, promoting economic growth and supporting the economic transformation phase.

Improved economic performance indicators

Economic performance indicators and private sector participation improved, as indicated by real GDP growth rates, which reached 1.7 percent in the first quarter of 2019, compared to 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018, and real non-oil sector growth reached 2.1 percent, driven by private sector growth of 2.3 percent, compared to 1.7 percent in the same quarter last year.

The Kingdom's fiscal policies focus on the sustainability of financial stability, while promoting economic growth and supporting the economic transformation phase. <Foreign direct investment inflows increased by 23.8 percent in the first quarter of this year, with increased investment opportunities available to the private sector, as total credit facilities provided to SMEs by banks and finance companies in the first half of 2019 amounted to 113 billion riyals, an increase of 11.6 percent, compared to the same period of the previous year, in addition to the improvement in banking performance to reach the total assets and liabilities of commercial banks during the second quarter of 2019 2.4 trillion riyals, recording a 3 percent increase, equivalent to 69.1 billion riyals, compared to an increase of 0.04 percent in the same quarter of the previous year.

Growth in real estate loans by 11%

For his part, during the dialogue session on the second day of the conference, the Deputy Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency for Supervision, Dr. Fahad Al-Shathri, stressed that the Kingdom's economy has witnessed a relative improvement over the past two years, which reflected positively on the private sector, which began to improve as shown by economic indicators represented by the increase in loans to small and medium enterprises by 5.9% of total loans, which exceeded the targets of the 2020 financial sector program, in addition to a growth in mortgage loans by 11% in the first half of this year.

For his part, during the discussion session on the second day of the conference. Dr. Al-Shathri explained that SAMA has a clear investment policy of preserving capital, liquidity, and achieving a return consistent with risk, adding that the institution has contributed to enhancing the performance of the financial sector through the initiatives it launched in the Financial Sector Development Program, in addition to opening the market to new players, as evidenced by issuing two licenses for foreign banks and issuing 21 licenses for financial technology companies.”

Dr. Al-Shathri said.

Organizing 5000 entertainment days

On the other hand, CEO of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) Amr Banaja revealed during his participation in a panel discussion at the conference that the GEA aims to organize 5,000 event days in the Kingdom during the current year 2019, pointing out that the authority seeks to strengthen its mechanisms and build an integrated sector through 3 axes, namely creating a legislative environment for the sector, promoting financing, especially for small and medium enterprises that play a pivotal role in the Kingdom's entertainment sector, and building human capabilities and developing expertise.”

Banaja added. <”The General Entertainment Authority aims to achieve the objectives of the Quality of Life Program in accordance with Vision 2030, which is the main umbrella for all entertainment events and activities held throughout the year. From this point of view, the Authority works with its partners in the private sector to organize many events in all regions of the Kingdom to attract tourists.”

Organizing Digital Transformation and Risk Management

<Sessions on the second day of the conference highlighted the importance of digital transformation and the vital sectors that contribute to the Kingdom's economic growth. In addition, panel discussions at Euromoney Saudi Arabia 2019 offered solutions to enhance sustainability at the economic level. Speakers including Tadawul's Head of Markets, Mohammed Sulaiman Al Rumaih, and the CMA's Director of Information Security, Sultan Al Khatim, discussed topics such as “Regulating Digital Transformation and Risk Management“, ”The Development of Capital Markets in the Kingdom“, and ”The Real Estate Sector in the Kingdom”. Victoria Behn, Director of Middle East and Africa at Euromoney, said: ”The Euromoney conference had a rich agenda, highlighting important changes in several development sectors in the Kingdom, and we appreciate the participation of the speakers during these sessions.“