FINANCIAL-SECTOR
18.3.2023 10:24:25 CET | 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/
About Business Wire
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
Ant International’s Antom Supports Google Gemini in Expanding Access to AI Service in Asia30.9.2026 06:16:00 CEST | Press release
The partnership was first launched in Indonesia, reaching about 10 million users, with plans to expand to more markets. Antom consolidates billing, tax, risk management, marketing and account services, covering the subscription lifecycle for AI companies. Google Gemini and Antom, a leading merchant payment and digitisation services provider under Ant International, today announced a strategic partnership to make AI tools for learning, creativity and productivity more accessible to users in Asia. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929520038/en/ Google AI Plus free trial offers are available in select digital payment and retail channels partnering with A+Rewards in Indonesia, with more markets to follow. Promoting Google AI Plus through AI-powered growth engine The collaboration will leverage A+Rewards, Antom’s digital marketing solution powered by privacy-preserving computing and AI technologies, and its extens
Signaloid Joins CERN openlab's Heterogeneous Architectures Testbed to Explore the Future of Scientific Computing30.9.2026 06:00:00 CEST | Press release
British deep-tech company Signaloid joins CERN openlab as an Industrial Member, contributing its probabilistic computing technology to the CERN openlab Heterogeneous Architectures Testbed.CERN and Signaloid will jointly evaluate whether Signaloid's UxHw® technology can accelerate Monte Carlo event generation for the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider.The collaboration reflects a broader shift towards heterogeneous computing architectures designed to meet the growing demands of next-generation scientific computing. British computing company Signaloid has joined CERN openlab, the public-private partnership through which CERN evaluates emerging information technologies for scientific computing. As part of the collaboration, CERN and Signaloid will evaluate Signaloid's distribution-extended compute hardware (UxHw®) technology within the CERN openlab Heterogeneous Architectures Testbed, which explores new processor technologies for future scientific computing infrastructures. This press
FPT Named in Forrester’s The SAP Services Landscape Report30.9.2026 05:00:00 CEST | Press release
Global technology corporation FPT has been included among the notable providers in The SAP Services Landscape, Q3 2026, published by Forrester Research, Inc. The report provides an overview of SAP services providers, examining their market focus, geographic presence, and business specializations to support enterprises in evaluating potential technology partners. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929359531/en/ The report includes FPT as a systems integrator with an Asia Pacific geographic focus and an industry focus spanning financial services and insurance, healthcare, and manufacturing. FPT identified SAP Business Data Cloud, SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and SAP Supply Chain Management (SCM) as its three primary extended business scenario focus areas, what FPT believes reflects its emphasis on modernizing core enterprise systems and enabling more integrated, data-driven operations. Building on mor
SES Successfully Prices €500 million Eurobond30.9.2026 04:41:00 CEST | Press release
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN, OR AT ANY ADDRESS IN, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS (INCLUDING PUERTO RICO, THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, GUAM, AMERICAN SAMOA, WAKE ISLAND AND THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS), ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (THE UNITED STATES) OR TO ANY U.S. PERSON (AS DEFINED IN REGULATION S OF THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE SECURITIES ACT)) OR IN OR INTO ANY JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO RELEASE, PUBLISH OR DISTRIBUTE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (SEE “OFFER AND DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS” BELOW). SES today announced the successful launch and pricing of a bond offering in which the company has agreed to sell senior unsecured fixed rate notes due in 2031 for a total amount of EUR 500 million. The new notes will bear a coupon of 5.625% and were priced at 99.667% of their nominal value. SES is rated Ba1 (stable) and BBB- (
Murata Begins Mass Production of World’s Smallest 0201-inch Size Three-Terminal Low-ESL MLCCs30.9.2026 04:00:00 CEST | Press release
New series cuts mounting area by approximately 64%, supporting high-performance smartphones and wearables Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 6981) (ISIN: JP3914400001) has begun mass production of the LLD series, the world’s smallest* three-terminal low-equivalent series inductance (ESL) multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC). Measuring just 0201-inch size (0.6 × 0.3 mm), the new products reduce mounting area by approximately 64% compared with Murata’s previous smallest 0402-inch size (1.0 × 0.5 mm), freeing up valuable PCB space in compact devices such as smartphones and wearables. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929596419/en/ [Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.] Three-Terminal Low-ESL MLCCs As smartphones and wearables incorporate increasingly powerful ICs, maintaining a stable power supply becomes more challenging. High-speed operation causes current demand to change rapidly, which can lead to fluctuations
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