Saudi Arabia-hosted finance event to outline Arab post-pandemic recovery

The 11th annual conference of the Arab Federation of Exchanges is being hosted by Saudi Arabia this year and features keynote speakers discussing the importance of finance in supporting the Arab region’s post-pandemic recovery.

Supported by the Saudi Stock Exchange Company (Tadawul), the two-day conference is the largest gathering of regional financial institutions in the region this year. The event, which kicked off on Monday, takes place digitally this year, with the first day focusing on the role of environmental, social and corporate governance practices in achieving economic growth and financial prosperity.

Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority, Mohammed El-Kuwaiz, told delegates the event is an important dialogue platform for the exchange of expertise and experiences, especially at a time when the region is still dealing with the negative impact of the pandemic on financial markets.

“Our conference today comes at an important time, as financial markets have witnessed during the past year exceptional challenges due to the pandemic and precautionary measures that have been imposed to combat it,” he said.

“Despite the obvious impact on the economy, the role of financial markets was also clear in supporting the economic recovery and the financing needs of market participants during the pandemic, which made us more aware of the importance of financial markets in such exceptional circumstances,” he added.

Using the global financial crisis of the 2000s as an example, El-Kuwaiz said the decade “highlighted the importance of supervision and tightening control over financial markets, which led to a number of reforms and precautions.”

CEO of Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), Khalid Al-Hussan, said the conference this year comes amid exceptional circumstances and coincides with several developments in the Arab and global financial markets as a result of the pandemic.

“This edition of the conference also represents a unique event that is distinguished from its previous annual conferences, as it is the first virtual conference of the Arab Federation of Exchanges, and in the period of global economic recovery,” he said.

Chairman of Mubasher Financial Group, Mohammed Al-Ballaa, highlighted the need to support financial technology initiatives to help the development of the Arab market.

“I would like to say that the use of financial technology in the field of trading and investment has had the greatest impact on the success of the business and services of direct companies.”

Mubasher Financial Group has used artificial intelligence to research and provide investment recommendations to clients.