JEDDAH, 21 May 2004 — Family-run businesses in the Kingdom will be the focus of a two-day forum at Jeddah Hilton starting on Monday. The event is being organized by MEED in association with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Jeddah Marketing Board.
Mohammed Abudawood, general manager of Abudawood for Industry Company of Jeddah, and Abdulaziz Qassim Kanoo, deputy chairman of Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo are the keynote speakers on the opening day of the conference.
“They will both review the prospects and opportunities for family businesses in the Kingdom,” the organizers said yesterday.
The forum will have a series of panel discussions that will assess the financial aspects of family-run businesses.
There will also be speeches on topics such as the risks and opportunities of going public, dealing with the challenges presented by the high rate of growth in the Kingdom’s economy, and a comparison of Western, Middle Eastern and Far Eastern family business management styles.
Speakers at the forum will include representatives of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Saudi Binladin Group, Zamil Group, and the Ceram Business School in Paris.
Ahmed Al-Abdul Khader of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry is to review the impact of the WTO and Alia Banaja, chairwoman of 2 The Point, will talk on the role of women in business.
