Saudi economy is strong, investment-friendly, says Turki Al-Faisal

LONDON — Saudi Arabia’s economy is strong, solid and attractive for investments, Prince Turki Al-Faisal affirmed while pointing out to local and international data and figures confirming this.

He made the remarks while addressing the 13th Annual Forum of BMG Group at the London Stock Exchange headquarters on Tuesday. Several senior officials and executives of Saudi and British financial and commercial companies attended the forum.

Prince Turki said that the Kingdom is witnessing a comprehensive and strong growth and development in all fields. “There are great opportunities for the participation of all international companies in supporting the implementation of the Kingdom’s projects and their cooperation with their counterparts in the Kingdom,” he said.

A number of specialists and those interested in the financial and investment fields addressed the forum. They agreed on the strength of the Saudi economy and its attractiveness to foreign investments and opportunities in light of the programs and initiatives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and its 13 executive programs.

The speakers at the forum highlighted that the Kingdom’s plans will enable British companies to actively contribute to implementing the Kingdom’s projects in various fields, especially infrastructure, the massive NEOM and Qiddiya projects, construction of schools and hospitals, projects in the education, industry and technology transfer areas, as well as in the service, administrative, financial and technology sectors.

The speakers expressed their optimism about the ambitious plans that have been put into practice on the ground, such as the NEOM Bay Airport and the start of the initial stages of several mega projects that require the advanced and specialized companies to enter independently or in partnerships with Saudi companies or through an alliance between several companies to contribute effectively to the implementation of these projects.

Addressing the Forum, Chris Woods, corporate governance, risk and index policy officer at FTSE Russell, highlighted the significant developments being witnessed by the Saudi Capital Market and Tadawul Stock Exchange in terms of legislation, regulations and listing mechanisms including levels of transparency, disclosure and protection of investors’ rights.