Business & Money | Thursday 26 February, 2015 4:59 am |

The need for greater economic diversification in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – and the opportunities that diversification will create for local and international banks – will be reviewed at the forthcoming Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference 2015, which is set to take place in May.

Weak global growth and soaring output combined to drive the price of oil significantly lower in 2015. This has significant implications for the Kingdom’s economy, which is still dependent on the energy sector – approximately 80 percent of government income and 90 per cent of export earnings relies on oil.

To examine this dramatic global shift, this year’s conference will host a “Bank Strategy” panel discussion during its opening day, which will examine whether oil price volatility has impacted the banking sector.

Panellists will include Dr Yahya A. Alyahya, Chief Executive Officer, Gulf International Bank, Tariq Al Sudairy, Chief Executive Officer, Jadwa Investments and Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, Chief Executive Officer, CIMB Islamic.  

Euromoney Conferences’ Regional Director, Richard Banks, said: “The volatility in the price of oil is one of the major economic stories of the year, both globally and for the Kingdom. We want to get under the skin of the issue, and use international and local insight to understand the new challenges and opportunities this situation is creating.”

In a recent interview with the BBC, Mohammad al-Sabban, former advisor to the Saudi Minister for Petroleum, has said that the country can withstand eight years or more of low oil prices, as its cash reserves and planned budget cuts mean it could cope with a long period of depressed prices.

In addition to the Bank Strategy session, this year’s Euromoney Conference will include special breakfast workshops on the macro-economic picture, as well as panel discussions on the role of capital markets in the current climate.

This year’s Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference, which is co-hosted with the Ministry of Finance, will take place on 5-6 May at the Al Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh.