JEDDAH, 6 April 2007 — Next week’s Saudi International Banking and Investment Conference 2007 in Jeddah will feature 36 speakers, all experts in their specialized fields, according to the organizers.
The two-day conference from April 9 will be formally inaugurated with the support of Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed at the Jeddah Hilton Exhibition & Conference Hall at 8 p.m. on Sunday (April 8). The National Commercial Bank (NCB)will host the opening event.
The conference will have the participation of top executives of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the Ministry of Finance, and all agencies related to banking and investment, Dr. Fahad Yousef Sharef Al-Etany, business consultant, said on behalf of the organizing company, Trade Exhibitions & Conferences Ltd. (Trade-X-Arabia).
Accompanying him at the media conference earlier this week were Dr. Mugbel S. Al-Dhukair of King Abdul Aziz University’s economics department, Trade-X-Arabia’s Chief Executive Office and General Manager Adel A. Shakoor and Fahad Ali Al-Ghamdi, executive in charge of public relations and government affairs, at Trade-X-Arabia.
“We expect 500 high profile delegates to attend the specialized event, which is the first of is kind here,” Al-Etany said, adding that the conference has been planned after a two-year study and preparations.
“The idea of organizing the event took shape around the time when the Kingdom’s accession to World Trade Organization materialized in 2005, and with it followed lots of changes in the banking and investment sector,” he added.
The conference sessions will cover the emerging investment-friendly market and changes that are taking place in the banking, insurance, capital market, and real estate finance and development sectors. “The real estate finance and development sector has assumed tremendous importance due to the establishment of five new cities including King Abdullah Economic City that is under way,” Al-Etany added.
All conclusions and recommendations arrived at the conference will be forwarded to related authorities and official agencies for consideration, he said.
Various local, regional and international banks will actively participate in the conference.