ROME: Italian insurance firm SACE plans to open an office in Riyadh to offer assistance and support to companies promoting the “Made in Italy” brand in Saudi Arabia, it has been announced.
The company is funded by the Italian government and specializes in supporting national businesses around the world.
The announcement came as SACE CEO Alessandra Ricci held a full day of meetings with Saudi officials and entrepreneurs in Riyadh on Nov. 23 to strengthen relationships and facilitate ongoing and prospective operations involving Italian companies within the Kingdom.
Over €8 billion ($8.73 billion) of high potential projects are currently under consideration by the company in Saudi Arabia across sectors such as infrastructure, urban planning, healthcare, and energy transition, Ricci explained at the “SACE's Saudi Day” event.
“Italian companies have a great potential for business development in Saudi Arabia, a country which has embraced significant growth and energy transition objectives,” she said.
“Our new office in Riyad will aim to support Italian entrepreneurs who intend to offer their products and services in this country. We will work on their side, we will offer them our expertise and support. The office will definitely be a key asset to help our companies to find new business in such an interesting country as Saudi Arabia,” Ricci added.
The CEO believes that the driver of the business opportunities in Saudi Arabia lies in the Vision 2030 program, which aims to diversify the national economy and boost the Kingdom's competitiveness through extensive investments in giga-projects across sectors such as renewable energy, logistics, and infrastructure.
“Italian exports in KSA surpassed €4 billion in 2022. Due to opportunities linked to the Vision 2030 program, they could reach a 15 percent increase this year as well as an approximate 5 percent rise in 2024,” Ricci said.
SACE is controlled directly by the Italian Ministry of the Economy and Finance, and has a portfolio of insured operations and guaranteed investments worth €164 billion.
It also works with the banking sector, providing financial guarantees to ensure companies have access to credit.
