Standard & Poor's to host capital markets seminar in Riyadh

This complementary, half-day event, specifically designed for investment professionals and market practitioners in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will take place at the Institute of Banking.

Under the patronage of Dr. Muhammad Al-Jasser, Vice Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, the event will feature an introduction by Mr Nabil Moubarak, SIMAH General Manager, and presentations by senior Standard & Poor's executives and analysts on a range of topics and challenges relevant to markets, investors and issuers in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"The Gulf Cooperation Council countries are increasingly diversifying their economies by opening up their capital markets and undertaking significant policy reforms," said Jan Willem Plantagie, Standard & Poor's Regional Manager for the Middle East.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a prime example. The macroeconomic framework has been strengthened by The Kingdom's accession to the World Trade Organization, which is expected to anchor Saudi Arabia's economy on the path of liberalization and openness. This will provide continued support for ongoing structural economic reform, helping to diversify the economy, reduce unemployment, and encourage private sector growth."

As well as examining credit trends and opportunities for the insurance, banking and corporate sectors in The Kingdom in the context of these reforms, analysts will discuss the outlook for Islamic finance and regional asset managers.

The seminar will also give participants a better understanding of the role that credit ratings play in global capital markets and outline the broad array of new actions Standard & Poor's has launched to further strengthen ratings processes and better serve capital markets.