EFG Hermes, the leading financial services corporation in Frontier Emerging Markets (FEM), and the Saudi Exchange launched the joint Virtual Investor Conference, on Sunday,under the theme “A Story of Resilience”.
The virtual event brings together executives from 61 companies, with more than 450 international investors from over 190 institutions. The conference will be held from 14-17 June, and aims to offer leading institutions and investors the opportunity to share and discuss insights on some of the most compelling opportunities across the Saudi capital market.
Karim Awad, CEO of EFG Hermes Group, said, “Despite the unprecedented impact of the pandemic on operating environments across the region, Saudi equity capital markets delivered a resilient performance aided by a deep and increasingly diversified economy, the continuous execution of regulatory reforms, and an abundant supply of new listings that are able to attract a differentiated investor base to the region’s largest and most liquid exchange.”
“With that in mind, we wanted to join forces with the Saudi Exchange to host an event to showcase this story of resilience given our strong commitment to the Saudi market whether through our award winning research, which actively covers 68 companies listed on the Saudi Exchange, or EFG Hermes’ Investment Banking division, which successfully executed two IPOs during the first quarter of 2021 and has lined up a solid pipeline of deals for execution in the short to medium-term,” he added, “We hope that this conference will truly highlight the opportunities, as well as the outlook, of the Saudi market to regional and international investors.”
Saudi Arabia, which boasts the largest exchange in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and features among the largest 10 stock exchanges globally, has come into increased focus following its inclusion in all major emerging markets indices.
Investors have also been attracted to the diversified market products and investment opportunities in the Saudi capital market. The Saudi Exchange has the highest market capitalisation-to-GDP ratio among leading emerging markets, and is the ninth largest exchange in the world in terms of market capitalisation.
Saudi Exchange CEO Mohammed Al Rumaih said, “We welcome this opportunity to host an investor conference focused on the resilience of the Saudi capital market in partnership with EFG Hermes.”
“Despite the [novel coronavirus (COVID-19)] pandemic, the Saudi capital market has shown remarkable strength and buoyancy,” he added, “This is indicative of the successful strategy we have been adopting for the last few years, which has been a journey of transformation and advancement.”
Al Rumaih also said that developing an advanced capital market is one of the pillars of the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP), Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. This aims to build a thriving economy with a technologically advanced and integrated capital market at its centre.
“As one of the largest and most liquid emerging markets in the world, we are shaping what comes next in capital market development by delivering best-in-class services and diversified investment opportunities to local and international investors, on par with global capital markets,” he noted, “This event offers a unique opportunity to reflect on the milestones we have achieved, to highlight the kingdom’s strong fundamentals and to look forward to what the future holds for Saudi Arabia’s economy.”
The conference will mark EFG Hermes’ fourth virtual investor conference to date since the COVID-19 outbreak started. It is a testament to the Group’s continued commitment to providing innovative platforms where investors can meet representatives from listed companies, and to hear first-hand insights from experts on trending topics in capital markets.
