Under the auspices of Dr. Abdulrahman A. Al-Tuwaijri, the chairman of the CMA, over 100 meetings took place between representatives of Saudi companies and US buy-side investors.

With the objective of promoting Saudi companies to foreign investors, the CMA’s initiative has complemented the extensive economic and institutional reforms that Saudi Arabia began in order to promote its economy’s competitive edge. Focusing on improving Saudi Arabia’s foundations for macroeconomic stability, the reforms put in place have thus far created powerful mechanisms for investment. The Capital Market Authority’s event comes at a perfect moment, building on the momentum already established by previous reforms.

“The reforms of the past decade have been carefully sequenced,” said Al-Tuwaijri.

“The government has implemented new measures to liberalize our market in order to ensure the right regulatory framework and market infrastructure are firmly in place — and these measures are succeeding,” he said.

The Saudi Arabia Capital Markets day provided Saudi companies and potential American investors the opportunity to sit together in exploratory meetings aimed at further developing their relationships. Representatives from both Saudi Arabia and the US considered the event an important opportunity, citing that meeting face-to-face allowed them to better communicate their ambitions and concerns.

The Saudi companies that attended were numerous and represented a great range in industries — reflecting Saudi Arabia’s efforts to encourage diversification. The companies present included Mobily, Saudi Arabia’s leading mobile operator; the Saudi stock exchange Tadawul; the National Shipping Company; and the Saudi Research and Marketing Group, among others.

The discussion of the Saudi market liberalization took into account the potential side effects of drastic reforms. Along these lines, great attention was paid to the global financial crisis’ impact on Saudi Arabia’s economy, although Al-Tuwaijri was reassuring in Saudi Arabia’s ability to recover from the effects of the crisis.

He noted in particular that Saudi Arabia offers its investors an abundance of investment opportunities as the biggest economy and largest capital market of the Middle East.

“Saudi Arabia has managed to remain in a position of relative strength despite the severe global financial turbulence of the past year... The Tadawul return was around 30 percent last year making Saudi Arabia the best performing market in the Gulf,” said Al-Tuwaijri.

Overall, the tone of the conference was quite positive, with all participants noting the shared interest they had in promoting investment in Saudi Arabia. Investors are well aware that change should not be drastic for the country.

Reflecting on the conference, Dr. Azzam Al-Dakhil, who was representing the Saudi Research and Marketing Group, explained the opportunities the CMA event would create.

More than a symbolic gesture, the event undoubtedly paved the way for future economic progress in Saudi Arabia, he said.