Saudi investment market set for big development

JEDDAH — The investment market in Saudi Arabia is in for massive development following recent changes in the kingdom's financial culture, according to an expert in the field.

Christian R. Mouchbahani, CEO of Jeffries Investment Bank in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), said that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is changing rapidly, adding to its traditional reliance of commodities — particularly oil — financial trading and investment.

He said that Saudi Arabia in particular, with over 70 per cent of the GCC population and 70 per cent of the wealth, is a key area in the region and one that offers tremendous potential for growth.
Mouchbahani added that the challenge developing the markets in the kingdom is something of a ground-breaking exercise.
"People in the kingdom have been quite receptive," he said about corporate and individual investors in the Kingdom. "Saudi Arabia is the best example in the region of a change in attitude," he said and added that there was still much work to be done. "But they are changing very quickly, in attitude, in openness. It still remains a complicated market where one needs a lot of patience," he said.
He said that Saudi Arabia is a market where closing deals takes longer but, because of its size and wealth, it is a key market. "With the necessary patience and a different approach, it will be successful," he added.

Mouchbahani was previously head of investment banking at Dubai Bank, where he led the bank's entry into merchant and investment banking. Prior to that, he was director at The National Investor, an investment banking and private equity firm where he completed one of the first Islamic corporate sukuk's in the world.
He said that the Middle East was "our natural home — especially with 150 bankers in the company who specialise in nothing but the oil and gas sectors." He said that this gave the group particular strength in the advisory area in oil and gas sector.

He is optmistic about the development of the markets in Saudi Arabia and the region as a whole. "The reality is that the landscape has totally changed over the last six months and it continues to change very quickly," he said.
He felt that the establishment of new local and international banks in Saudi Arabia would considerably facilitate and create the necessary financial infrastructure.