Global Financial Community Optimistic to Overcome Market Challenges and Build Stronger, Tech-Driven, Sustainable Future Economy
18.3.2023 12:23:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
The second edition of the Financial Sector Conference (FSC 2023) has concluded in Riyadh, with a mood of optimism and energy to overcome market challenges to build a stronger, technology driven and sustainable economy of the future.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230317005086/en/
Courtney Powell, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner, 500 Global (Photo: AETOSWire)
Over 3200 participants from 82 countries, and 180 media, assembled in the Saudi capital to discuss the way ahead for the global financial community under the conference theme of “Promising Financial Prospects.”
Representatives from some of the biggest global financial institutions joined Government Finance Ministers met to identify the most effective road map for future growth and prosperity for the sector – enabling greater use of technology, diversification, cross border cooperation and embracing the green economy.
The conference also saw multiple MOUs and agreements signed to support real estate development; FinTech development and digital financing solutions worth billions of dollars and the National Bank of Iraq announced the start of operations in Saudi Arabia.
Concluding the conference, Saudi Central Bank Governor HE Ayman Mohammed Alsayari highlighted the Kingdom's efforts to provide an attractive environment for FinTech companies in line with the goals of Vision 2030 goals, and the vital role they play to support the growth of the private sector, to diversify the economy, and to stimulate saving, financing and investment.
Debating the important role of Venture Capital, Courtney Powell, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner, 500 Global, said: “Since we made our first investment in the Middle East in 2012, we have seen incredible growth and we have 14 companies today valued at over $100 million. The willingness of the government to support entrepreneurs combined with the opening up of the Kingdom shows it has the potential of becoming a leading global hub for entrepreneurship.”
In discussion about the future of global money flows, HE Giancarlo Giorgetti, Italian Minister of Economy and Finance stated: “In the financial sector, fragmentation induced by geopolitical tension will have strong implications by affecting global and financial stability, the cross-border allocation of capital, international payment systems, and asset prices.”
Financing for the SME sector was a key debating point on the final day of the conference with the enormous growth of the sector both in the Middle East and internationally. Tala Al Jabri, Board Member, Middle East VC Association (MEVCA) identified a major financing gap for the sector. He said: “95% of enterprises in the region are SMEs and the loan profile that goes to them is only 7% – which is the lowest in the world, indicating a massive gap.”
The FinTech sector in Saudi Arabia meanwhile is flourishing as Ziad Alyousef, Deputy Governor for Development and Technology, Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) explained: “In 2018, there were less than 10 companies operating in the FinTech community. Now, there are over 155 companies operating in the space in Saudi Arabia and this has led to increased investments and job creation."
*Source: AETOSWire
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230317005086/en/
Contact information
Nawied Jabarkhyl
njabarkhyl@apcoworldwide.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
LTM Introduces BlueVerse™ Currency to Enable Outcome-Based Pricing in the Agentic AI Era10.6.2026 11:30:00 EEST | Press release
LTM, the Business Creativity partner to the world’s largest enterprises, today introduced BlueVerse™ Currency, an AI-linked commercial model that prices enterprise work by outcomes rather than effort consumed as enterprises scale agentic AI across core processes. BlueVerse Currency brings together the full BlueVerse stack—People (expertise on demand), Accelerators (reusable assets that speed delivery), Agents (autonomous AI workforce), Platforms (orchestration layer to scale delivery), and Tokens (compute and model usage)—into a single commercial construct. It introduces outcome-linked pricing tied to measurable business results, enabling shared productivity gains so clients can capture AI-driven efficiency value. The model also supports fungible resourcing, enabling reallocation mid-contract to evolving priorities, and faster reinvestment, with savings redirected into innovation. It is underpinned by a hybrid structure with fixed and variable pricing components, supported by use-case–
Smead Capital Management Extends International Value Strategy to Global Investors Through New Fund10.6.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Smead Capital Management, a Phoenix-based investment management firm and a leader in value investing, today announced the launch of the Smead Global ex-US Value UCITS Fund designed to provide global investors with access to a product modeled after the firm’s long-standing Smead International Value Strategy. The Smead Global ex-US Value UCITS Fund is domiciled in Luxembourg. Investors can access the fund through Smead Capital Management’s website and it is available to professional and qualified investors through the fund’s transfer agent. The strategy that the Smead Global ex-US Value UCITS Fund is modeled after, the Smead International Value Strategy, has been a core contributor to Smead Capital Management’s outstanding performance for over a decade. Like all Smead products, the Global ex-US Value UCITS Fund will be built on Smead’s eight investment criteria and a disciplined, contrarian, value approach. “Many investors around the world believe non-US companies cannot produce attracti
Dodge Opens Orders for the Next Generation Charger in Europe10.6.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
An Icon Enters Its Next Generation This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260609386800/en/ Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, Dodge opens a bold new chapter in Europe with the launch of the next-generation Dodge Charger, bringing one of America’s most iconic muscle cars back to European roads through a new multi-energy lineup engineered to deliver performance and attitude without compromise. Six decades after the original Charger helped define the muscle car era, this new eighth-generation model evolves the formula for a new generation of drivers while remaining unmistakably Dodge in character, design and presence. Available with both all-electric and gasoline powertrains, the new Charger reflects Dodge’s performance-first philosophy: different powertrains, same muscle car DNA. The next-generation Charger arrives in Europe in both two-door and four-door configurations, combining iconic proportions, wide-body
Roquette Showcases Scalable Drug Delivery Innovations at CPHI China 202610.6.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Roquette, a global leader in plant-based ingredients and pharmaceutical excipients, will showcase its comprehensive portfolio of innovative drug delivery solutions at CPHI & PMEC China 2026, taking place June 16-18 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC). Under the theme “One Roquette for Innovations,” Roquette’s Health & Pharma Solutions Business Unit will exhibit at booth E3D26, highlighting how its deep scientific expertise and technical capabilities enable pharmaceutical companies to turn promising formulations into scalable commercial realities. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260610596225/en/ Visit Roquette at booth E3D26 to meet with its team of experts “As the pharmaceutical industry accelerates innovation, from GLP-1 therapies to complex biologics, the pressure to deliver manufacturing reliability, consistent supply, and robust formulations at scale has never been greater,” said Angela S
Trustd Brings Know Your Carrier to Market as Freight Fraud Costs European Supply Chains Over €1bn10.6.2026 09:01:00 EEST | Press release
Trustd, the digital identity and credentials verification platform for transport and logistics, is bringing to market Know Your Carrier (KYC), a web-based verification tool that lets shippers and 3PLs get an instant risk signal on carriers quoting for work via email in seconds. Cargo crime across EMEA has risen 438% in three years. More than 108,000 supply chain thefts were recorded across the region in the last two years. Of the 5% that reported a financial loss, the combined value exceeded €1bn, equivalent to €1.3m every 24 hours. Know Your Carrier draws on Trustd's expertise in digital identity verification to address a problem that has until now had no industry-wide solution. The web-based tool plugs into existing workflows with no installation or integration. Users enter an email address and, where available, a VAT number. The tool checks email legitimacy and domain matching, business registration data, adverse media, sanctions and court judgments, and Trustd’s own growing network
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom