JEDDAH, 19 March 2008 — The National Commercial Bank (NCB) hosted the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman David Lewis, and a delegation of businessmen and financiers that accompanied him here recently. Among those present were British Consul General Kate Rudd and a number of senior executives from major British banks, in addition to economic and financial experts. Abdulkareem Abu Al-Nasr, chief executive officer of the NCB and a number of senior bank officials welcomed the guests.
Abu Al-Nasr said that the visit of the mayor aimed to explore investment opportunities in light of the buoyancy in the economy. The visiting team also studied the opportunities for cooperation between the NCB and a number of major British financial institutions.
The Kingdom has made progress in modernizing many regulations in conjunction with structural reforms taking place in the national economy to keep pace with international economic changes and the consequent increase in capital, investments and competition, he added.
Dr. Said Al-Shaikh, NCB’s chief economist, gave a detailed overview on the Saudi economy illustrating the beginning of the global economic changes that contributed to the increased demand for oil and the rise in prices and its impact on the state budget, which helped achieved a substantial surplus of SR179 billion in 2007.
He also addressed the state policy in surplus management, particularly with respect to reducing the public debt and increased foreign reserves. He mentioned the rates of economic growth achieved last year and expectations for 2008.
Dr. Al-Shaikh stated that the Saudi market enjoyed several advantages that encouraged investment, such as the high rate of liquidity, multiple financing alternatives, growing demand for goods and services and the accelerating pace of economic modernization. He outlined the most recent developments including the increased spending on mega projects in various sectors and financial liberalization programs, as well as the expansion of the banking sector with its participation with regional and international competitors and the performance of Saudi banks during the past few years.