The Saudi Arabia Conference 2012
Tue 22 - Wed 23 May 2012 - Al Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh
On 22 and 23 May Euromoney held its seventh annual Saudi Arabia Conference. The theme of the event for 2012 was Stability, Growth and Jobs.
The conference was opened with speeches from Dr Ibrahim Al Assaf, Minister of Finance, Dr Muhammad Al Jasser, Minister of Economy and Planning, Dr. Tawfig Al Rabiah, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Dr. Mufarrej Al Haqbani, Vice Minister of Labour. The overriding theme of these speeches was the Kingdom’s commitment to maintaining stability, increasing growth and creating jobs for the Kingdom’s youth. Each Minister addressed some of the key challenges the Kingdom faces in both preparing the youth for the job market and in mobilising the labour market in creating jobs.
The international highpoints of this year’s event were the interviews with Mary John Miller, Under-Secretary for Domestic Finance, US Department of the Treasury and Chikahisa Sumi, Deputy Director General, Government Finance, Ministry of Finance of Japan. The first time two such important figures from international finance took part together in a conference in the Kingdom.
Their remarks were complimented by one to one interviews with the top level industry leaders from the Kingdom and other international speakers – including Samir Assaf, Chief Executive Officer, Global Banking and Markets of HSBC, Frédéric Janbon, Global Head of Fixed Income of BNP Paribas, Blythe Masters, Head of Global Commodities of J.P. Morgan, Dr Faisal Al Sugair, Vice President at General Authority of Civil Aviation, Mohammad Al Kharashi, Governor of the Public Pension Agency and Ali Al Barrak, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Electricity Company.
The panel discussions of the conference also considered: Sukuk and Infrastructure Finance, Oil, SMEs and their role in filling the employment gap, Housing, the Global Financial Crisis and its Effect on the KSA, Financial Sector Stability and Growth and the Saudi Equity Market.
From an international angle, Ben Simpfendorfer, Managing Director of Silk Road Management gave a striking presentation on the Gulf’s commercial relations with Asia and exploring the opportunities and challenges there. On the broader theme of job creation, we were pleased to have a presentation from Steffen Ovdahl from Ramboll Management Consulting on lessons from the Nordic countries in increasing youth employment.
Sukuk and infrastructure finance was a hotly debated topic and a favourite with a big number of our delegates.
The conference was attended by over 1,100 financiers, investors and captains of industry from the Kingdom, the region, Europe and Asia.
We would like to thank the Ministry of Finance for their continued endorsement of this conference and our sponsors who through their commitment raised the platform of this conference to a truly outstanding and successful event. We look forward to working with them again and to seeing our delegates in 2013!
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| PANEL IV: SMEs: Can They Fill The Employment Gap? |
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| PANEL V: Housing |
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| PANEL VII: Financial Sector Stability and Growth |
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Workshop C: SME Development
Hosted by: Bank Albilad |
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| Address: H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Al Assaf, Minister of Finance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
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| Interview with Chikahisa Sumi, Deputy Director General, Government Finance, Ministry of Finance of Japan |
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| Interview with Mary John Miller, Under Secretary of Domestic Finance, US Department of the Treasury |
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| Address: H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, Minister of Economy and Planning, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
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| Address: H.E. Dr. Tawfig Al Rabiah, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
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| Address: H.E. Dr. Mufarrej Al Haqbani, Vice Minister of Labour, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
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| Interview with Mr. Khalid Al Jasser, Chief Executive Officer, Bank Albilad |
Presentations:
H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Al Assaf, Minister of Finance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
H.E. Dr. Tawfig Al Rabiah, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, Minister of Economy & Planning, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - English Arabic
H.E Dr. Mufarrej Al Haqbani, Vice Minister of Labour, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - English Arabic
View the highlights from last year here:
If you wish to contact someone regarding speaking or sponsoring opportunities in 2013 please contact Mohamed Kharboush on email: mkharboush@euromoneyplc.com or call +44 (0) 20 7779 8149.
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