Vision 2030 putting Saudi Arabia on the map for global investors, experts say

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s investment landscape is poised for a prosperous future, fueled by its equity and debt markets, a range of economic experts have told Arab News.

Senior figures from the Kingdom’s branch of investment bank J.P. Morgan, financial media outlet Bloomberg, and Saudi tourism funding firm ASFAR all spoke of the positive impact of the Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy. 

By focusing on the growth of various sectors, such as tourism, healthcare, and renewable energy, the Kingdom aims to reduce its economic reliance on fossil fuels, foster innovation, create jobs, and enhance citizens’ quality of life. 

This is already bearing fruit, according to Amine Fichtali, head of investment banking at J.P. Morgan Saudi Arabia.

He told Arab News that the Kingdom stood out as an exciting, compelling investment story for investors.

Fichtali added that Saudi Arabia is a top-down, long-term structural story underpinned by socio-economic transformation and the execution of several regulatory reforms that help to promote the Kingdom globally.

These sentiments were echoed by European Director of Bloomberg Constantin Cotzias. 

He believes that Saudi Arabia — with various reforms in its regulatory framework — is emerging as a favorite destination for international investors. 

Cotzias told Arab News that international investors want three things.

“They want liquidity, a framework of governance and regulation that works, and a balance of good supervision and innovation to be properly balanced. And then they want that framework to encourage them with investment and the growth in that investment,” he said, adding that Saudi Arabia is on the right path.

One of the initiatives to attract businesses to the Kingdom was to offer tax breaks and other incentives to companies that applied to move their regional headquarters to Riyadh before the end of 2023.

This helped encourage some 200 firms to make the shift, including Northern Trust, Bechtel and Pepsico from the US, and IHG Hotels and Resorts, PwC, and Deloitte from the UK.  

Google, Microsoft and IBM as well as Oracle, Pfizer and Amazon, also have regional headquarters in Riyadh.