Riyadh ‘top financial center in MENA region’

RIYADH: Deutsche Bank’s 2016 Market Outlook conference, titled “Successfully Navigating Global Markets” took place in Riyadh.

The conference — the second event of its kind for Deutsche Bank in Saudi Arabia — explored pressing macro issues affecting economies, capital markets, companies, family offices and individual investors around the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region and beyond.  
More than 100 conference delegates heard leading Deutsche Bank strategists and economists present on a range of topics including the outlook for oil, the impact on the region’s economies of quantitative easing and national fiscal budgetary constraints, foreign exchange and pressures on currencies currently pegged to the US Dollar and how continued investment in infrastructure development and other major projects will impact future growth and prosperity in the region
Sascha Pietrek, Deutsche Bank’s head of wealth management onshore in Saudi Arabia, said: “Despite current headwinds facing emerging markets, the global economy continues to look at the Middle East region as a source of growth that will provide sound investment opportunities in the future.”
He said: “The challenge for market participants here is to capitalize on these opportunities while effectively managing the inevitable risks that exist given continuing global and regional volatility. That we have chosen to host our conference here in Riyadh reflects the city’s rising status as a leading financial center in the MENA region.”
Jamal Al-Kishi, CEO of Deutsche Securities Saudi Arabia, added: “Deutsche Bank has a proud history in Saudi Arabia and to bring a conference of this caliber to our clients is testament to the strength of our franchise here.”
He said: “We’ve seen heightened interest in the local economy this year given the opening of the Saudi Stock Exchange to the foreign investor community. This conference will cement our view that tangible opportunities for our local and international clients exist in this dynamic market, despite the obvious global and regional challenges.”
Keynote speakers at the conference from Deutsche Bank included Jim Reid, global head of the Fundamental Credit Strategy Group, Melhem Melhem, chief economist Saudi Arabia, Roger Posch, Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management global head of Foreign Exchange and Stuart Kirk, head of cross-product research.
The conference brought together more than 30 institutional investors, 40 individual investors, 15 family offices and 22 companies from Saudi Arabia.