Saudi Minister of Industry Briefed on Latest Financial Technologies at New York Stock Exchange

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef visits the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Tuesday. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef visits the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Tuesday. (SPA)
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Saudi Minister of Industry Briefed on Latest Financial Technologies at New York Stock Exchange

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef visits the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Tuesday. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef visits the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Tuesday. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef visited the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Tuesday.

He was briefed on its latest electronic systems for evaluating companies and sectors, learned about the exchange's history, trading mechanisms, and purchasing processes, and the best practices adopted to enhance efficiency and competitiveness.

Established in 1792, the New York Stock Exchange represents one of the largest exchanges globally, with a market capitalization exceeding $30 trillion. Traders can buy and sell shares of listed companies through an auction-based system facilitated by securities brokers on behalf of clients.

The exchange is renowned for its stringent listing requirements and transparency, offering high levels of investor protection. Operating primarily in the United States, it also has offices in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

Furthermore, during his visit to New York, Minister Alkhorayef welcomed industry ministers and leaders of industrial transformation from around the world during an event organized by Saudi Arabia in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The event served as a precursor to hosting the 21st General Conference of the organization in Riyadh in 2025, as well as the Multi-Party Industrial Policy Forum (MIPF) 2024.

Alkhorayef invited global industry leaders to participate in these events, offering an opportunity to develop innovative industrial solutions and policies that support regional and global industrial development.

Alkhorayef’s official visit to the United States, which will continue until September 28, aims to boost industrial and mining cooperation, strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries, attract quality investments to the Kingdom, and explore investment opportunities in promising sectors, notably aviation and aerospace.



ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
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ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde renewed her call for economic integration across Europe on Friday, arguing that intensifying global trade tensions and a growing technology gap with the United States create fresh urgency for action.
US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose tariffs on most if not all imports and said Europe would pay a heavy price for having run a large trade surplus with the US for decades.
"The geopolitical environment has also become less favorable, with growing threats to free trade from all corners of the world," Lagarde said in a speech, without directly referring to Trump.
"The urgency to integrate our capital markets has risen."
While Europe has made some progress, EU members tend to water down most proposals to protect vested national interests to the detriment of the bloc as a whole, Reuters quoted Lagarde as saying.
But this is taking hundreds of billions if not trillions of euros out of the economy as households are holding 11.5 trillion euros in cash and deposits, and much of this is not making its way to the firms that need the funding.
"If EU households were to align their deposit-to-financial assets ratio with that of US households, a stock of up to 8 trillion euros could be redirected into long-term, market-based investments – or a flow of around 350 billion euros annually," Lagarde said.
When the cash actually enters the capital market, it often stays within national borders or leaves for the US in hope of better returns, Lagarde added.
Europe therefore needs to reduce the cost of investing in capital markets and must make the regulatory regime easier for cash to flow to places where it is needed the most.
A solution might be to create an EU-wide regulatory regime on top of the 27 national rules and certain issuers could then opt into this framework.
"To bypass the cumbersome process of regulatory harmonization, we could envisage a 28th regime for issuers of securities," Lagarde said. "They would benefit from a unified corporate and securities law, facilitating cross-border placement, holding and settlement."
Still, that would not solve the problem that few innovative companies set up shop in Europe, partly due to the lack of funding. So Europe must make it easier for investment to flow into venture capital and for banks to fund startups, she said.