Continued High Level of Interest in Investing in Saudi: The Importance of the Private Sector and Government Collaborating to De-Risk Long-Term Investment.

During the 2020 BMG Economic Forum, which took place on 15 July 2020, 36 high-level Saudi and speakers discussed investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia as the country moves into the next stage of recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. Speakers included H.R.H. Ambassador Prince Abdullah bin Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi ambassador to Austria, Slovenia & Slovakia, Permanent representative to the UN in Vienna, Bandar AlKhorayef the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources in Saudi Arabia, and Stephen Groff, Governor, National Development Fund.

The BMG Economic Forum, virtual for the first time, featured 36 government and business leaders as speakers during the six-hour-long event, which had 700 delegates signed up to attend.

“It was extremely encouraging to see such a high level of interest in investing in Saudi Arabia – and to see that despite the challenging global economic situation, businesses continue to look for investment opportunities and are keen to understand opportunities in emerging markets. Saudi Arabia is clearly on the map of global business leaders. BMG Financial Group was pleased to offer investors around the world with such a wealth of insights into the Saudi market. Having government and investors side by side, virtually, discussing how Saudi Arabia can become even more attractive to foreign investors made this event unique.”

H.R.H. Ambassador Prince Abdullah bin Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi ambassador to Austria, Slovenia & Slovakia, Permanent representative to the UN in Vienna and Stephen Groff, Governor, National Development Fund, provided an update about the Saudi G20 Presidency which

Commenced just as the first cases of Covid-19 were reported. His Royal Highness talked about the significant funds and support provided by the G20 under the Saudi Presidency.

One of the recurring themes was the importance of government helping to de-risk investment in, e.g. infrastructure and other long-term projects. Governor Stephen Groff of the Saudi National Development Fund pointed out that one of the roles of development funds is to support and facilitate private sector investment. Mr. Groff mentioned that there is a need for different financial instruments to encourage private sector investment and take some of the risks away.

The opportunities and the future of manufacturing in the Kingdom, discussed by the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bander Al-Khorayef, and the planning of having a global form for mining in the next two or three months.

Dr. Frank Appel, Deutsch Post DHL spoke about how the Covid-19 “Coronavirus” crisis affected the demand, from consumers everywhere in the globe, and that the companies must change their approach.

The tourism sector was mentioned numerous times as a high-potential sector, with the potential for becoming the biggest forex earner in the Kingdom.

The potential of waste management and water treatment industry in Saudi Arabia were discussed by the CEO of HTCycle Uwe Kuhnle, and the high potential of HTCycle technology to be presented in the Kingdom.

The growth of the Capital Market in Saudi Arabia and the launch of the Derivatives Market to trade Future contracts were discussed by Dan Scott, the CIO Wealth Management at Vontobel in Switzerland.

Sustainable investing is gaining traction and across sessions, and other important speakers, expressed optimism that the current situation can be used to rebuild our economy in a different way – provided all stakeholders pull in the same direction. Capital providers and investors are increasingly pushing in this direction, with some speakers calling for more public sector involvement.

You are most welcome to watch the recordings of all sessions of the 2020 BMG Economic Forum along with the BMG Foundation classical music Concert in Vienna.

Please register at to watch the replaywww.bmgeconomicforum.com.

Click here to view the media coverage of BMG 2020 Summer Retreat