Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will open the two-day Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference today (May 2) in Riyadh and deliver the opening keynote presentation to an audience of senior government spokespeople and leading bankers. One of the most far-reaching and ambitious economic and social transformation plans ever executed in the region, Vision 2030 is reshaping a wide range of industry sectors and creating new jobs and opportunities for the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Already, there are positive signs that the new policies are having an impact, with the government announcing a much smaller-than-expected deficit of $7 billion for the first quarter of 2017. The Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference 2017, held in partnership with Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Finance, will bring together ministers, experts, analysts, and senior executives to discuss the steps taken to date, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for companies within the Kingdom and for international financial organizations looking to play a role. More than 1,600 delegates are expected to attend the event, which is the largest financial conference of its kind in the Kingdom. Major speakers providing their perspective at the Conference will include Majed bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, Minister of Housing, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Dr Ahmed Abdulkarim Alkholifey, Governor, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency; Mohamed El-Kuwaiz, Vice Chairman, Capital Market Authority; and Khalid Abdullah Al Hussan, Chief Executive Officer, Tadawul. Mohamed Kharboush, Conference Director, Euromoney Conferences, said: "Since its launch a year ago, it has been clear that, with Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has embarked on one of the boldest socio-economic experiments in the world today. The impact of the decisions taken are being felt across the region, so we are very pleased that we have brought together leaders from across the Kingdom alongside senior banking executives to assess the progress made to date and the future road ahead." International perspectives will be provided through interviews and panel discussions with a number of senior executives from regional and global financial companies, including Al Rajhi Bank, Al Rajhi Capital, BNP Paribas, Citi, Gulf International Bank, HSBC, Jabal Omar Development Company, Jadwa Investment, NCB, NCB Capital, QNB and Tadawul. — SG
