Saudi Arabia has been one of the most proactive regional economies in this regard.
Development requires its efficient pooling and allocation.
In recent years, new types of funding vehicles have gained ground, whether REITs or funds set up with public sector participation.
As the Gulf economies pursue the goals articulated in Saudi Vision 2030 and other comparable roadmaps, financial sector growth and diversification are only increasing in urgency and importance.
The question is how to further build on this progress in enabling more lending to “new” businesses, especially SMEs, to ensure their growth potential is not constrained by limited access to credit.
Private equity possesses obvious potential — and economic healing power — given the number of disruptions created by the economic challenges of recent years, not to mention the structural opportunity to create more productive businesses.
Finally, there is a massive opportunity to boost the institutional investor universe by stimulating the development of collective saving vehicles.