“The attractiveness of the Saudi market to private equity investors has grown sharply in recent years. This has been a function of new private-sector opportunities created by the broad economic diversification and liberalization beyond oil and gas,” said Amr El-Barbary, managing director at Citadel Capital, the leading private equity firm in the Middle East and Africa with investments of US$8.3 billion spanning 14 countries and 15 industries.
Private equity is money invested in companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange or invested as part of buyouts of publicly traded firms to make them private companies.
Some 40 authoritative private-equity industry players will address the forum and will hold round-table discussions, give interviews and have Q&A sessions with the participants.
The role of private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) in Saudi Arabia through highly interactive panel will also be discussed as well as the hottest industry sectors —energy, infrastructure, transport, technology and health care.
More than 250 participants will attend the event.
On the first day, Fahad Al-Sultan, secretary general of the Saudi Council of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, will talk on "Inflation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Present Opportunities and Future Challenges."
Al-Sultan will discuss the elements that affect the local economy, impact on the Saudi economic activities, future expectation for inflation and economic mechanism and policies to focus on keeping inflate rate within safe boundaries.
Brad Bourland, chief economist and managing director of Jadwa Investment, will talk about Saudi economic trends and outlook for 2010. Specifically, he will discuss the latest indicators and macroeconomic outlook for this year.
On the second day, Khan H. Zahid, chief economist at Riyad Capital, will talk on "Saudi Financial and Investment Regulations.” He'll discuss the financial sector and new regulatory structures, investment tools available in the local market, investment incentives and partnership between public and private sectors, and tapping into the foreign reserves acting as a cushion for the Saudi economy.
The moderator will be Peter Hodgins, partner at the Clyde & Co. LLP, while the panelists will include Abdulaziz Al-Bosaily of the Abdulaziz A. Al-Bosaily Law Office (in association with Clyde & Co) in the Kingdom.
Saud E. Al Malaq, director general at the Organizations' Affairs and Regional Trade Agreements at the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry, will discuss "Investment and Trade Agreements: Maximizing Benefits."
Rakesh Patnaik, vice president and head of real estate funds at Global Investment House in Kuwait, will talk on "Recovery from a Decline — An Holistic View of the Real Estate Market and Scope for Future Growth."
Panel sessions on real estate investment and finance and energy will follow.
There will also be a panel discussion on Saudi Arabia's investment leaders, Saudi Arabia as an investor's prospect, the Saudi capital markets evolution and sectors where to invest in the future.
On the last day, there will be a plenary sessions in the morning on sources of capital in KSA as well as sovereign wealth and private equity, value creation in the Kingdom, development of venture capital industry, Islamic and Shariah compliant PE investments and understanding the pressing issues of legal systems and regulatory framework.
In the afternoon, panel sessions and debates will take place on global investments in relation to the Kingdom, mergers and acquisitions, exit avenues in the Kingdom, executing a successful IPO as a PE exit in K.S.A., the Kingdom's capital markets evolution, and Saudi Arabia's private equity and venture capital future.
