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Al-Jadaan: Saudi Arabia’s Financial Market Is Fastest-Growing Worldwide 

Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan speaks at Monday's conference in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan speaks at Monday's conference in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Al-Jadaan: Saudi Arabia’s Financial Market Is Fastest-Growing Worldwide 

Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan speaks at Monday's conference in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan speaks at Monday's conference in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia’s financial market has surged past $2.4 trillion, making it the fastest-growing globally, as the Kingdom doubles down on fintech, digital payments and artificial intelligence to diversify its economy and cement its role as a financial center.

Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan used the opening of the Money20/20 Middle East conference in Riyadh to reassure investors amid recent market declines, pointing to sharp gains in electronic payments, which climbed to 79% of total transactions last year from 18% in 2016, as evidence of progress toward a cashless economy.

“This growth reflects tangible progress in diversifying the economy and opening new horizons for investors,” said al-Jadaan, who also chairs the Financial Sector Development Program.

The Riyadh event, which drew ministers, regulators, and investors managing assets of more than $7 trillion, comes at a turbulent time for global markets. Geopolitical tensions and rising interest rates have clouded the outlook and pushed up the cost of capital.

Against that backdrop, al-Jadaan said Saudi Arabia is not merely adapting but contributing to shaping financial innovation.

“The Kingdom seeks to play an active role in shaping the future of finance through fintech and AI,” he stressed.

Riyadh as a financial hub

The minister said hosting Money20/20 highlighted Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a global financial hub, reflecting its deep commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship. The push forms part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy, boost resilience and build private-sector partnerships.

Global growth remains below historic levels, Jadaan said, with high borrowing costs and geopolitical frictions fueling uncertainty. But Saudi Arabia, he argued, is positioning itself as a provider of solutions, citing the digital revolution, AI and emerging sectors offering “unprecedented opportunities” for investment.

Fintech surge

The number of active fintech firms in Saudi Arabia has more than doubled in recent years, reaching 280 by mid-2025 compared with fewer than 20 a decade ago. The insurance sector expanded by 16.3% last year, while regulatory sandboxes have tested experimental financial products.

Al-Jadaan highlighted steps to deepen capital markets, including the launch of Saudi Arabia’s first mortgage-backed securities program. He also noted JP Morgan’s move to put Saudi riyal-denominated sovereign sukuk under review for possible inclusion in its benchmark Emerging Market Bond Index, a development that could expand investor access and broaden funding channels. “Youth are our most important investment,” al-Jadaan added, pointing out that more than 70% of Saudis are under 35, forming the driving force of Vision 2030 and the source of financial innovation.

Central bank: beyond supervision

Saudi Central Bank Governor Ayman al-Sayari said the fintech sector has tripled since 2022, attracting more than 9 billion riyals ($2.4 billion) in global investment.

He credited Saudi Arabia’s strategic location, tech-savvy population and supportive regulatory environment for luring innovators and investors.

The central bank, he said, is moving beyond oversight to actively foster innovation through initiatives such as its regulatory sandbox, Fintech Saudi, and instant payments platforms.

“Opportunities and risks in fintech cross borders,” he said, stressing the need for global cooperation and standardized frameworks to ensure sustainable growth.

According to al-Sayari, financial services will increasingly be shaped by artificial intelligence, tokenization and other technologies, with the Saudi central bank aiming to remain an open, forward-looking and trusted partner.

From retail-heavy to balanced markets

Capital Market Authority chairman Mohammed al-Kuwaiz noted that Saudi Arabia’s market had shifted from one dominated by retail investors to a more balanced mix of individuals and institutions.

“Before Vision 2030, retail investors accounted for 80–90% of trades. That brought liquidity but also volatility and herd behavior,” he said.

Today, institutional participation and a wider mix of investors – domestic and foreign, fundamental and technical – have reduced volatility.

While the market has fallen about 10% so far this year, al-Kuwaiz said overall swings had narrowed over the past eight years.

New digital services

The Riyadh gathering also marked the launch of new digital payment services. Google Pay and China’s Alipay+ announced their entry into the Saudi market, in cooperation with the central bank, expanding options for consumers and underlining the Kingdom’s bid to become a fintech hub.

Separately, the central bank unveiled the start of operations at Vision Bank, a new digital lender. The move is part of efforts to strengthen competition, reinforce financial stability, boost economic growth and enhance transparency and trust in the banking system.

Global backdrop

The conference took place against a global backdrop of uncertainty, with geopolitical tensions and trade disputes adding to the pressure of high interest rates. Al-Jadaan said these shifts had redefined the cost of capital and underscored the need for innovative financial solutions.

He stressed that Saudi Arabia is not merely weathering these global changes but actively shaping responses, including through digital transformation and AI.

“The future of finance will be built on innovation, technology and public-private partnerships,” he said.

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Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Harvard University economics professor Pol Antràs said Saudi Arabia represents an exceptional model in the shifting global trade landscape, differing fundamentally from traditional emerging-market frameworks. He also stressed that globalization has not ended but has instead re-formed into what he describes as fragmented integration.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Antràs said Saudi Arabia’s Vision-driven structural reforms position the Kingdom to benefit from the ongoing phase of fragmented integration, adding that the country’s strategic focus on logistics transformation and artificial intelligence constitutes a key engine for sustainable growth that extends beyond the volatility of global crises.

Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is one of the leading contemporary theorists of international trade. His research, which reshaped understanding of global value chains, focuses on how firms organize cross-border production and how regulation and technological change influence global trade flows and corporate decision-making.

He said conventional classifications of economies often obscure important structural differences, noting that the term emerging markets groups together countries with widely divergent industrial bases. Economies that depend heavily on manufacturing exports rely critically on market access and trade integration and therefore face stronger competitive pressures from Chinese exports that are increasingly shifting toward alternative markets.

Saudi Arabia, by contrast, exports extensively while facing limited direct competition from China in its primary export commodity, a situation that creates a strategic opportunity. The current environment allows the Kingdom to obtain imports from China at lower cost and access a broader range of goods that previously flowed largely toward the United States market.

Addressing how emerging economies should respond to dumping pressures and rising competition, Antràs said countries should minimize protectionist tendencies and instead position themselves as committed participants in the multilateral trading system, allowing foreign producers to access domestic markets while encouraging domestic firms to expand internationally.

He noted that although Chinese dumping presents concerns for countries with manufacturing sectors that compete directly with Chinese production, the risk is lower for Saudi Arabia because it does not maintain a large manufacturing base that overlaps directly with Chinese exports. Lower-cost imports could benefit Saudi consumers, while targeted policy tools such as credit programs, subsidies, and support for firms seeking to redesign and upgrade business models represent more effective responses than broad protectionist measures.

Globalization has not ended

Antràs said globalization continues but through more complex structures, with trade agreements increasingly negotiated through diverse arrangements rather than relying primarily on multilateral negotiations. Trade deals will continue to be concluded, but they are likely to become more complex, with uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global trading environment.

Interest rates and artificial intelligence

According to Antràs, high global interest rates, combined with the additional risk premiums faced by emerging markets, are constraining investment, particularly in sectors that require export financing, capital expenditure, and continuous quality upgrading.

However, he noted that elevated interest rates partly reflect expectations of stronger long-term growth driven by artificial intelligence and broader technological transformation.

He also said if those growth expectations materialize, productivity gains could enable small and medium-sized enterprises to forecast demand more accurately and identify previously untapped markets, partially offsetting the negative effects of higher borrowing costs.

Employment concerns and the role of government

The Harvard professor warned that labor markets face a dual challenge stemming from intensified Chinese export competition and accelerating job automation driven by artificial intelligence, developments that could lead to significant disruptions, particularly among younger workers. He said governments must adopt proactive strategies requiring substantial fiscal resources to mitigate near-term labor-market shocks.

According to Antràs, productivity growth remains the central condition for success: if new technologies deliver the anticipated productivity gains, governments will gain the fiscal space needed to compensate affected groups and retrain the workforce, achieving a balance between addressing short-term disruptions and investing in long-term strategic gains.

Business

Aljadaan: Emerging Markets Account for 70% of Global Growth

Al-Jadaan speaking to the attendees at the "AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies" (Asharq Al-Awsat
Al-Jadaan speaking to the attendees at the "AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies" (Asharq Al-Awsat
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Aljadaan: Emerging Markets Account for 70% of Global Growth

Al-Jadaan speaking to the attendees at the "AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies" (Asharq Al-Awsat
Al-Jadaan speaking to the attendees at the "AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies" (Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Aljadaan stressed Sunday that the world economy is going through a “profound transition,” saying emerging markets and developing economies now account for nearly 60 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in purchasing power terms and over 70 percent of global growth.

In his opening remarks at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, organized by the Saudi Ministry of Finance and the IMF in AlUla, the minister said these economies have become an increasingly important driver of global growth with their share of global economy more than doubling since 2010.

“Today, the 10 emerging economies in the G20 alone account for more than half of the world growth. Yet, they face a more complex and fragmented environment, elevated debt levels, slower trade growth and increasing exposure to geopolitical shocks.”

“Unfortunately, more than half of low income countries are either in or at the risk of debt distress. At the same time global trade growth has slowed at around half of what it was pre the pandemic,” Aljadaan added.

The Finance Minister stressed that the Saudi experience over the past decade has reinforced three lessons that may be relevant to the discussions at the two-day conference, which brings together a select group of ministers and central bank governors, leaders of international organizations, leading investors and academics.

“First, macroeconomic stability is not the enemy of growth. It is actually the foundation,” he said.

“Structural reforms deliver results only when institutions deliver. So there is no point of reforming ... if the institutions are unable to deliver,” he stated.

Finally, he said that “international cooperation matters more, not less, in a fragmented world.”

Business

Georgieva from AlUla: Growth Still Lacks Pre-pandemic Levels

Kristalina Georgieva speaking to attendees at the second edition of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Kristalina Georgieva speaking to attendees at the second edition of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Georgieva from AlUla: Growth Still Lacks Pre-pandemic Levels

Kristalina Georgieva speaking to attendees at the second edition of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Kristalina Georgieva speaking to attendees at the second edition of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat)

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Sunday that world growth still lacks pre-pandemic levels, expressing concern as she expected more shocks amid high spending and rising debt levels in many countries.

Georgieva spoke at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, organized by the Saudi Ministry of Finance and the IMF in AlUla.

The two-day conference brings together a select group of ministers and central bank governors, leaders of international organizations, leading investors and academics to deliberate on policies to global stability, prosperity, and multilateral collaboration.

Georgieva said that the conference was launched last year in recognition of the growing role of emerging market economies in a world of sweeping transformations.

“I came out of this gathering .... With a sense of hope for the pragmatic attitude and determination to pursue good policies and build strong institutions,” she said.

Georgieva stressed that “good policies pay off,” and said that growth rates across emerging economies reached four percent this year, exceeding by a large margin those of advanced economies that are around 1.5 percent.