RIYADH: Banks are well-placed to attract capital as Saudi Arabia plans massive investments in infrastructure and the diversification of the economy, according to the CEO of Standard Chartered Africa and Middle East, Sunil Kaushal.
Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, the banking executive said the Kingdom is an “attractive” place for investment, and pointed to his firm’s own growth in Saudi Arabia.
The first branch of Standard Chartered in the Kingdom was inaugurated in September 2021, and Kaushal believes his company is merely “scratching the surface” of the possibilities in the region.
He said: “The demand for capital is massive. And that's where banks like us come into play, attracting capital, not only from the west, but more increasingly now from the east to this attractive market.”
"We've previously had a business serving customers outside of the Kingdom, today we are able to do both, so it is a very powerful combination of being able to do business both onshore and offshore. We are a great bridge to bring in capital from overseas and facilitate trade and investment from overseas, and that we see as something immediately we want to focus on,” Kaushal added.
The “bridge” concept sees SC acting as a conduit for two-way capital flows between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world.
In 2019, SC won a full banking license from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, enabling it to offer a complete range of services in the Kingdom, upgrading the license from the Capital Market Authority under which it had been operating previously.
The new status allowed SC to offer commercial banking and deposit-taking in the Kingdom, alongside the investment banking activities it already ran, and its first branch in Saudi Arabia was opened 13 months ago.
"In just over a year, we've got all our product capabilities on the ground. We have approximately 50 people now on the ground. High quality people who are able to ideate, able to structure complex transactions and execute complex projects. It's a very powerful team, and we look to further invest in building just given the pipeline and the business opportunities," Kaushal said.
Commenting on the huge demand for talent, he added: “In Saudi, the demand for talent is massive, so we are very happy where we are. Of course, we find some challenges in terms of attrition of talent, but we are training and building a portfolio of staff.”
“I think staff numbers will grow with business. And our objective is to have people on the ground here. This is the largest market in GCC, so the business opportunity here is massive. And we are just scratching the surface. We just started, as I said, just over a year ago.”
