JEDDAH, 20 November 2007 — BMG Financial Advisors, a leading provider of financial services in the Kingdom, has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (CBTL) to explore the possibilities of introducing E-trading for young investors and provide them with financial research about the companies listed on the Saudi stock market (Tadawul).
This project is expected to begin immediately after obtaining the approval of the Capital Market Authority (CMA), the stock market regulator in the Kingdom.
While addressing a press conference on Saturday with Faisal A. Al-Faisal, president of CBTL, Saudi Arabia, Basil M. Al-Ghalayini, CEO of BMG, said up-to-date information will be provided to investors from Internet as well as through in-depth BMG company research reports.
BMG is the first investment bank in the Kingdom producing comprehensive research reports about companies with fair price recommendations.
“This joint venture with CBTL will enable investors to trade independently in a very relaxed atmosphere and will help them make right investment decisions,” Ghalayini said, adding “This comes as a natural extension to BMG’s strategy of becoming the leading investment banking firm by taking new initiatives in Saudi Arabia.”
Faisal, who introduced CBTL to the Saudi market, said “We are glad to team up with BMG in this way; this is the age of technology and the Internet, and we are happy to contribute in this way.”
He said “This new concept is first in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. In the beginning, we will introduce this system in Jeddah and later we are planning to expand it to other major cities in the Kingdom through CBTL outlets.”
He added “So far CBTL has 11 branches in the Kingdom but we will have more branches in the near future.”
Founded in California in 1963, CBTL is heavily involved in worldwide social responsibility, providing assistance to the less fortunate in countries like Colombia and regions like the Far East and Africa.
“BMG’s innovative approach and diversified services will add value and build a long-term relationship with its clients,” Ghalayini said.
“We are proud of this initiative and are looking forward to launching BMG brokerage after obtaining the CMA approval and granting access to young and savvy investors. This will add value to the public by educating them about the market through BMG research and it will also create awareness and interest in healthy trading,” Ghalayini added.