The conference, now in its fifth year, is being held at the Al-Faisaliah Hotel for two days from May 18, bringing together more than 60 speakers and panelists from the public and private sectors who will discuss topics such as Saudi Arabia's financial sector and credit markets, the future of public and private financial partnerships, the development of corporate finance and asset management, as well as the Kingdom's oil, hydrocarbons and mineral resources. The conference will also consider how global economic realignment presents opportunities to define a new economic identity for the Kingdom.

"Saudi Arabia has avoided the worst of the recession and its economy has maintained relative stability compared to other countries in the GCC. However, there are challenges ahead," said Richard Banks, director of the Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference. "Euromoney provides business leaders such as NCB's (National Commercial Bank's) CEO Abdulkareem A. Abu Alnasr; Omar Jaroudi, CEO of SHUAA Capital Saudi Arabia; Simon Williams, chief economist from HSBC Middle East; and Alain Papiasse, head of corporate and investment banking at BNP Paribas, with a platform to assess whether or not the Kingdom will return to sustained growth."

The regulation of the banking sector and the way its role as a prime intermediating mechanism is gradually being supplemented by other capital markets will be under scrutiny at the conference. To supplement this discussion panels are also dedicated to the Saudi credit market and corporate finance.

"With bank finance on the wane and debt markets not yet mature or willing enough to offer an alternative, one of the key questions will be how Saudi Arabia is going to fund its massive infrastructure and development needs," said Banks. "Public and private financial partnerships and the nature of this relationship will be one of the dominant topics in the Kingdom and consequently at the conference," he added.

Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference has become the largest and most important financial event of the Saudi calendar. This year keynote speeches will be delivered by Minister of Finance Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Jordan's Minister of Finance Mohammad Abu-Hammour, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency Gov. Muhammad Al-Jasser, Mohammad Alkharashi, governor of the Public Pension Agency, among others.