Business & Money | Tuesday 16 April, 2019 3:17 am |

The organizers of the 1stFinancial Sector Conference (FSC), the Ministry of Finance (MoF), the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) and the Capital Market Authority (CMA), have confirmed the completion of all logistical and technical preparations. The conference, which will be held under the patronage of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, will take place on 24 and 25 April, 2019, at the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center in Riyadh.

This was announced at a press conference organized at the MoF headquarters in Riyadh on Monday, 15 April, 2019 by the FSC Executive Committee to highlight the coordinated efforts for the event. 

Commenting on the FSC, Mr. Khalid Al Homoud, member of the CMA Board of Directors and member of the FSC supervision Committee noted: “The conference aims to attract about 2,000 participants among which local, regional and international finance and business sector leaders from the public and private sectors, including international corporations, international rating agencies, experts and specialists in finance, investment, banking and insurance.”

“Coming after the launch of the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP), one of the executive programs of Saudi Vision 2030, the FSC highlights the Kingdom's position as the largest financial market in the Middle East, as it provides a single platform for all Saudi financial sector stakeholders to engage in fruitful dialogue,” Al Homoud added.

Al Homoud went on to note that the FSC is among the most prominent financial conferences in the world, as it features the competitive position of the Saudi financial sector on both regional and global levels. The event will not only raise awareness about the FSDP initiatives and how they fit within Vision 2030’s objectives, but also facilitate the exchange of experiences and information, discuss challenges and best financial sector development practices, showcase investment opportunities, stimulate competition, uplift the attractiveness of the Saudi financial sector, and enhance the Kingdom's position as the Middle East’s largest financial market.

On the FSC’s main themes and sessions, Mr. Fahad Al Saif, Head of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Advisor to the Minister of Finance and chairman of the FSC technical committee stated that the conference will host a two-day agenda with sessions featuring a high level group of international, regional and local speakers, who will discuss various themes, including: raising the bar for the financial sector in Saudi, Islamic finance and FinTech, as well as the challenges and opportunities within the insurance sector.

The Kingdom aims to provide a single platform for Government and  financial industry leaders like H.E. Mohammed Al Jadaan, Minister of Finance; H.E. Dr. Ahmed Al Kholifey, SAMA Governor; H.E. Mohammed Al Quweiz, President of the Capital Market Authority; H.E. Khalid AlFalih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources; H.E. Majed Al Hogail, Minister of Housing; H.E. Nabil Al Amoudi, Minister of Transportation; H.E. Dr. Ziad FarizGovernor, Central Bank of Jordan, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Sara Al Suhaimi, CEO Tadawul, Frédéric Oudéa CEO Société Générale; Eng. Amin  Nasser,  President and CEO of Saudi Aramco; Yousef  Al-Benyan, the Vice Chairman and CEO of SABIC; Tom Finke, Chairman & CEO of Barings, Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Bourse.

“Theygather to exchange experiences and information between lenders and beneficiaries, discuss key challenges, highlight regulations and legislation and showcase best financial sector development practices,” Al-Saif continued. 

He also stated: “We envision the FSC being the largest platform for financial dialogue in the Middle East and among the top financial sector events in the world, serving as a key catalyst for innovation, forging partnerships and building relationships between financial institutions and investors,” Al-Saif concluded.

Highlighting the FSC and its role within Vision 2030, Mr. Yarob Thenayan, Deputy Minister of Communication and Media, Ministry of Finance, Chairman of FSC Executive Committee, said, "The FSC is jointly organized by the MoF, SAMA and CMA under the theme "Promising Financial Prospects", and is one of the initiatives of the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP), which comes under the umbrella of Vision 2030.”

“The FSC will include a special pavilion dedicated to the Financial Sector Development Program that highlights the program's initiatives and what it has achieved so far, as well as pavilions for the participating organizations that will highlight their future plans and activities. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel will also host a Shark Tank-style competition in which aspiring entrepreneurs will pitch their business projects to potential Saudi start-up investors, as well as workshops during which entrepreneurs will present their business ideas and projects to businessmen, virtual trading walkthroughs, and financial literacy sessions to raise awareness on the importance of saving and financial planning,” Al-Thenayan added.

The Chairman of the FSC Executive Committee concluded by expressing his appreciation to the event’s many partners, which include SMEs Authority, Samba bank, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), National Commercial Bank, Saudi ARAMCO, Saudia Airlines, Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), Saudi Telecom Company, SABB Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, Bank AlJazira, Saudi Payment, SAGIA, Tawuniya Insurance Company, Social Development Bank and Bidaya Home Finance, in addition to a number of financial sector institutions in the Kingdom and the event’s media partners.