TITLE: The Business Year releases special report on Saudi finance sector transformation

The Business Year (TBY), a global media group that has been providing investors, businesses, and governments with first-hand insights into the world’s most dynamic markets for over a decade, has published Special Report: The Future of Finance in Saudi Arabia, an in-depth look, through interviews, articles, and analysis, at the changing face of the sector in the Gulf nation.

Saudi Arabia is rapidly transforming its banking and finance sector, with a focus on the emerging fintech industry. Driven by the economic diversification goals of Saudi Vision 2030, a wide-ranging blueprint for change, the country is harnessing world-class digital infrastructure to propel the sector into a promising future, unlocking the potential of every segment of the economy.

It is at this moment that TBY launches Special Report: The Future of Finance in Saudi Arabia, exploring the opportunities, challenges, and investment opportunities in the sector.

The rigorous research to create the report was carried out by Alena Hakansson, TBY’s Managing Director for KSA, and Edoardo Caccin, analyst in charge of TBY’s editorial activity in the country. To produce Special Report: The Future of Finance in Saudi Arabia, the on-the-ground team gathered first-hand insights from industry leaders, analyzing key trends and pinpointing opportunities in order to provide businesses, investors, and governments worldwide with key information.

Alena Hakansson stressed that the report highlights a “significant shift in the traditional operating paradigms of banking and financial institutions across Saudi Arabia and the broader GCC region.” This transformation is based on the adoption of digital solutions driven by cutting-edge technology platforms. Saudi Vision 2030’s Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP)[TP1]  emerges as a key player “facilitating the metamorphosis of the Kingdom’s financial landscape into a thriving and dynamic digital ecosystem for financial innovations,” she continued. This ever-changing process is unlocking remarkable growth potential while strengthening the resilience of the sector, in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives.

Edoardo Caccin highlighted that, according to the research carried out in Saudi Arabia, the country’s approach to ensuring enhanced banking accessibility and investment in technology, backed by progressive legislation, is creating business opportunities for SMEs to access new financial tools and services, “enabling smaller companies to participate in a fast-growing industry with remarkable revenue earning possibilities and contributing to the prosperity of local communities.” Additionally, this sector has also attracted the attention of regional and international investors, with a notable surge in funding among Saudi Arabia-based fintech start-ups, raising around USD400 million [TP2] in 2022, a major increase from USD23 million during 2015-2020[MH3] [HC4] . The number of FinTech startups grew by a staggering 79% y-o-y in 2022[HC5] . With this trend expected to continue well into 2023, the report anticipates the sector offering an overall positive investment climate, positioning Saudi Arabia as a premier destination for finance innovation and sustainable economic development.

Special Report: The Future of Finance in Saudi Arabia is one in a series of reports and initiatives included in The Business Year’s 10th anniversary coverage in Saudi Arabia. In March 2023, TBY released its first special report of the series, titled A New Era, which highlights the progress achieved across Saudi Arabia’s sports, culture, tourism, and entertainment sectors.

Special Report: The Future of Finance in Saudi Arabia will reach a targeted global audience through its print edition, and will be available on a range of digital platforms, including Bloomberg Terminal, Dow Jones Factiva, FactSet, and Refinitiv Eikon, as well as PressReader, Issuu, and Google Books.

Readers can download the full report through this link.