As the largest and most liquid bourse in the MENA region, the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) accounts for around 50% of the GCC equity market, and yet it is one of the most difficult to access for foreign investors (although this is set to change when the market opens up in 2015). Gaining exposure to the nation’s listed firms, many of which...
Saudi Arabia’s demographic profile helps to explain the significant position of remittances in the nation’s current account. After a number of years of net emigration, the turn of this century saw a reversal of trend to produce a net immigration rate of 19.6 migrants for every 1000 people between 2000 and 2005, according to the UN Economic and...
For GCC states seeking to diversify their economies away from a reliance on hydrocarbon revenues, the development of a vibrant small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector is a strategic priority. Saudi Arabia shares this ambition, but holds an advantage over many of its neighbours in that SMEs already account for around 90% of the country’s...
The past year has been a positive one for the Kingdom’s banking sector. With asset growth and profitability continuing the upward trend that has buoyed the industry over recent years, the shifts brought about by the 2008-09 global financial crisis are beginning to pay dividends in the form of increasingly diverse revenue streams and a wider...
In overhauling their technological infrastructure and rolling out new tech-based services to their customers, Saudi Arabia’s banks have a strong platform to expand their operations. As participants in one of the most venerable financial sectors in the region, the country is served by a well-established technological framework that continues to...
In recent years Saudi Arabia’s banking sector has shown itself to be particularly adept at building retail loan books. Consumer lending in the Kingdom has followed a healthy upward trend since 2009, with research by local investment firm Aljazira Finance showing that the contribution of retail loans to aggregate sector lending rose from 22% in...
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