HSBC Saudi Arabia, SAB and the Sino International Entrepreneurs Federation hosted a delegation of leading Chinese business leaders, entrepreneurs and organizations to showcase and analyze the rapidly expanding range of investment opportunities that exist between the two countries.
Co-hosted by HSBC Saudi Arabia CEO Faris Al-Ghannam and SAB CEO Tony Cripps, the event was attended by business leaders from among China’s leading publicly listed companies, as well as startups, covering a range of sectors including biotech, fintech, investment funds and artificial intelligence.
Al-Ghannam said: “Saudi Arabia’s ambitious economic transformation plan Vision 2030 and China’s pro-growth policies provide huge potential in the trade and investment that flow between these two thriving markets. HSBC’s scale, on-the-ground expertise, and local knowledge at both ends of this vibrant business corridor, when combined with our international network, open up a world of opportunity for our clients from access to capital markets and international investments, to technology, leisure, infrastructure and energy transition.”
China is Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner, and bilateral trade between the two countries reached $87.3 billion in 2021, with Chinese exports to the Kingdom reaching $30.3 billion and China’s imports from Saudi Arabia totaling $57 billion. As bilateral ties between the world’s two fastest growing markets strengthen further with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and China’s Belt and Road and Greater Bay Area initiatives gathering momentum, HSBC and SAB stand ready to connect Chinese businesses with the inbound and outbound investment opportunities the corridor offers.
SAB CEO Cripps said: “As the largest international bank in the Kingdom, SAB together with HSBC is ideally positioned to serve the multidimensional needs of Chinese businesses looking to invest in Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing economy. Conversely, SAB and HSBC alongside SAB’s wholly owned subsidiary SAB Invest can help Chinese businesses tap into investment from Saudi Arabia. HSBC has supported growth and development in both markets, through its rich history in China and more than 70 years of unbroken presence in Saudi Arabia as the strategic partner and largest shareholder in SAB, the Kingdom’s first bank. We can bring these sides together better than anyone else.”
HSBC is the largest and most widely represented international banking organization in the MENAT region, with a presence in nine countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the UAE.
In Saudi Arabia, HSBC is a 31 percent shareholder of SAB, formerly known as Saudi British Bank, and a 51 percent shareholder of HSBC Saudi Arabia for investment banking in the Kingdom.
