Business & Money | Tuesday 5 May, 2015 1:15 am |

H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Minister of Finance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will be the first in a series of distinguished speakers at the Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference this week, which takes place from 5-6 May at the Al Faisaliah Hotel.

In his keynote remarks, His Excellency will outline the policies and strategies that have supported Saudi Arabia’s significant growth over the past decade – from around US$320bn in 2005 to nearly US$750bn in 2015. In addition, he will discuss some of the bold reforms being pursued to deliver long-term sustainable development and diversify the economy to reduce dependence on oil and gas.

In order to attract the strategic investment required to sustain diversification, the Kingdom is pursuing an ambitious programme of economic and regulatory reform.

This year’s Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference, which is celebrating ten years in the Kingdom, has been designed to provide delegates with full insight into the real business and investment opportunities being created by this reinvigorated economic strategy.

More than 1,600 delegates are expected at the event, including leaders from across the Kingdom’s financial community and representatives of some of the world’s largest banks.

Richard Ensor, Chairman, Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, who will also speak at the conference, said: “Ten years ago, we hosted around 600 delegates in Riyadh to discuss the direction of the Kingdom’s economy. Since then, the Kingdom has created nearly four million new jobs, embarked on a massive infrastructure investment programme, and steadily opened its economy to global capital – most recently with the opening of Tadawul to international investors. It is a remarkable success story, particularly given the challenges facing the region, and one that Euromoney will continue to support through our events.”

Other speakers on the first day include H.E. Mr. Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Chairman, Capital Market Authority, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Jean Lemierre, Chairman, BNP Paribas; Ziyad Mohammed Al-Shiha, President and Chief Executive Officer, Saudi Electricity Company; U. K. Sinha, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India; and Adel Al-Ghamdi, Chief Executive Officer, Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

There will be a dedicated panel for bankers on the first day, reviewing the performance of the Kingdom’s commercial and retail banking sector and the Kingdom’s capacity to deal with oil shocks, along with a parallel track for chief financial officers, providing expert insight into investor relations and corporate governance.

This year’s Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference, which is co-hosted with the Ministry of Finance, will run until 6 May at the Al Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh.