Arab News, Thursday, Mar 16, 2023 | Sha'ban 24, 1444
Saudi Arabia eyes global money market to boost investment into economy
Saudi Arabia:
High on its economic diversification agenda, Saudi Arabia is looking to tap
into the global financial market to attract investment in its economy with new
initiatives, according to a top minister.
Speaking at the Financial Sector Conference in
Riyadh, Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih said: “We want to focus on
the money market, insurance and lending, and we have initiatives that focus on
this.”
He said the Kingdom is now one of the most
attractive countries for investments as it has the right balance between risk
and return, growth opportunities, as well as profitable opportunities.
The minister insisted that the Kingdom is on the
right track to increase the size of the economy by 100 percent.
“We are now in the middle of the road in
implementing the Saudi Vision 2030 and on the right track to double the size of
the economy,” Al-Falih explained.
Speaking at the same panel, Alexandre Fleury, who
is the co-head of Global Markets Activities at French-based financial services
firm Societe Generale, agreed that what has been happening with Saudi Vision
2030 has been nothing short of “extraordinary.”
“To be ahead of schedule is a tremendous
achievement,” Fleury noted during the panel discussion titled “Investments for
Tomorrow: The 13 Strategic Sectors.”
Complimenting how Saudi Arabia is diversifying
from an energy superpower to an economic superpower, he said soon investors will
have no choice but to invest in the Kingdom.
Global and regional economic uncertainty is one of
the key themes of the second edition of the Financial Sector Conference
2023 being held in Riyadh on March 15 to 16.
Organized by Saudi Arabia’s Financial Sector
Development Program partners, which are the Ministry of Finance, the Capital
Market Authority, and the Saudi Central Bank, the event is taking place at the
King Abdulaziz International Conference Center.
“The launch of the second edition of the Financial
Sector Conference comes at a critical time in the world as the regional and
international financial community seeks to overcome the current challenges of
the global economy, including slow growth, high inflation, and uncertainty,
which have affected the global supply chain,” Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Saudi Arabia’s
Minister of Finance, said in a statement back in February.