and medium enterprises (SMEs) is an increasing focus of large banks, Adel Al Howar, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Individual Banking Sector of National Commercial Bank (NCB), said in a statement Wednesday. Commenting ahead of the "SME Economic Forum 2011" on March 29-30 at the Asharqia Chamber's headquarters in Dammam, in which the bank is a lead sponsor, Al Howar said "Saudi Arabia is one of the least affected countries by the global economic crisis, where the government was successful in staying on course with its development plans. This partly created fresh opportunities for entrepreneur-minded Saudis to set up and invest in new SMEs. The growing government emphasis on this sector, through a number of financial and educational support programs, has visibly impacted its growth," adding that "NCB will strive to be the driving force of this sector." He further said "although the current global and regional economic conditions remain fragile, SMEs are considered to be an opportunity for banks in diversifying their risk. The forum will be instrumental in conveying this fact, and will help banks to modify their policies to better accommodate SMEs in light of local economic dynamics." Fabien Faure, Managing Director of Naseba - organizer of the forum in partnership with the Asharqia Chamber - said "this forum plays a crucial role for the SME sector in Saudi Arabia. The participation of NCB reflects the support of the Saudi financial sector toward strengthening SMEs in the Kingdom." SAGIA's General Director of Marketing and Corporate Communication, Fahd Hamidaddin, will speak at the forum to address numerous business and growth opportunities offered to Saudi Arabian SMEs. Participants at the forum will have the opportunity to network with larger international corporations to explore business opportunities and learn expansion strategies within Saudi Arabia and beyond.
