ONE year on from the official announcement of the "Saudi Vision 2030" to diversify the economy and reduce the Kingdom's reliance on oil, The Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference is set to return to Riyadh to analyze progress made to date. The major conference will bring senior government representatives and leading financiers together to discuss a broad range of strategic issues, including the economic outlook for 2017, the progress of a number of mega-projects and the challenges and opportunities being created by Saudization. There will also be special sessions covering the Kingdom's bond issuance program, the prospects for the oil sector, and panel discussions on Saudi Arabia's plans for privatization and public offerings, including the eagerly-anticipated Saudi Aramco IPO. Major speakers from the Kingdom include Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; HDr Ahmed Abdulkarim Alkholifey, Governor, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency; Majed bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, Minister of Housing, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Mohamed El-Kuwaiz, Vice Chairman, Capital Market Authority; Khalid Abdullah Al Hussan, Chief Executive Officer, Tadawul; and Yousef Abdullah Al-Benyan, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SABIC. Victoria Behn, Euromoney Conference's Head of Middle East and Africa, said: "We're pleased to return to Saudi Arabia at such an exciting time in the nation's development. It is clear that the government is driving significant economic and industrial changes as part of the Saudi Vision 2030. We've developed this year's agenda to provide the most insightful look at how these changes are rolling-out, to better support delegates' understanding of the opportunities that are being created within the financial sector and wider economy." In a first for the event, Euromoney is organizing an exclusive ticketed executive briefing on Real Estate Investment Trusts on the day before the conference. It will provide an opportunity for delegates to learn more about this new investment product and meet some of the international and national experts who are driving this emerging industry. In addition, the conference will host a special panel discussion on FinTech, Cyber Security and the Digital Financial Ecosystem, and ask whether these new technologies are likely to transform the finance and business sectors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The 2017 Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference, co-hosted with the Ministry of Finance, will be held on May 2-3 in Riyadh. The Executive Briefing on Real Estate Investment Trusts will run on May 1, 2017.
