Euromoney-Saudi Arabia conference, a major event organized annually with the support of the Ministry of Finance with focus on key trends and opportunities for and within the Kingdom, will this year brainstorm on turbulent oil market and the opening of Tadawul to foreign investors.

Unveiling the plan for the upcoming conference, Richard Banks, regional director, euromoney conferences said: "2015 is shaping up to be a historic year for the Kingdom with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman as the new leader and a host of fiscal reforms planned accordingly, including the opening of the Tadawul stock exchange to foreign investors for the first time."

He added: "Equally, a number of new pressures have emerged, including a fall in oil revenues, estimated to be as much as a third year-on-year according to bank forecasts and ongoing challenges as the Kingdom strives to become a more diversified, private sector oriented economy.”

Moreover, this will be our tenth conference in the Kingdom, which provides us with an important opportunity to look back on the incredible progress made over the decade, he said.

"Given the new challenges and opportunities that are emerging in 2015, it will also offer real insight into some of the key trends that will shape the future," Banks underlined.

He maintained that this 10th edition of the conference to be held here at Al Faisaliah hotel from May 5-6, is set to be its most significant session, so far, as it will provide the most comprehensive overview of the Kingdom's current positioning and future prospects by bringing together a host of international expertise and regional senior banking executives with strong national perspectives.

Among the prominent speakers, who have confirmed their participation for the conference include Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf, who will open the event with a keynote speech, Mohammad Al-Jasser, minister of economy and planning, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, secretary general of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jean Lemierre, chairman BNP Paribas and Mohammed Al-Jaadan, chairman Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA).

Notably, the Kingdom is among the top 20 largest economies in the world and has the Arab world’s biggest stock market.

While government spending remains the main engine of the national economy, there is an increasing recognition of the need to diversify the economy and increase competitiveness as experts argue that the dynamics of regional power are changing and there is an important need for the Kingdom to move its dependence away from an oil-based economy.

To examine these key trends, experts at the conference will brainstorm on the key issues.

Besides the oil market and Tadawul opening to foreign investors, the influence of financial sector on job creation will be another major topic as according to the Ministry of Labor plenty of jobs have been created for the citizens, but the Kingdom still needs to expand the jobs market, particularly in the private sector, in order to support its growing population.

Euromoney executives will also speak onstage with representatives of some of the Kingdom’s key enterprises, including senior officials from Tadawul and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC).

The Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference is claimed to be the longest-running, largest and most influential financial conference in the Kingdom.