LONDON: Business leaders hailed 萝莉视频鈥檚 investment environment and prospects for economic growth at an event at the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
The BMG Economic Forum, of which Arab News is a partner, is held annually to discuss business developments in the Kingdom and the wider region.
Panelists explored topics including the effect of geopolitical developments on economies, and updates on Saudi giga-projects.
The Kingdom, which is rapidly expanding its non-oil economy, also has a 鈥減owerful鈥� energy sector that has proved resilient to major geopolitical developments, said Dr. Carole Nakhle, CEO of Crystol Energy.
鈥淏ecause especially here in the Western world, I hear about oil and gas being volatile, and you can鈥檛 rely on oil and gas,鈥� she added.
鈥淏ut I tell them, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e missing the point.鈥� A well-functioning market has to be volatile, right? But the key is, does it clear volatility quite efficiently?
鈥淎nd what we saw in the last few years were some major geopolitical developments 鈥� the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, on top of that, all the macroeconomic challenges, the war in Gaza etc., sanctions on Russia already, sanctions on Iran, Venezuela, Libya not quite settled, Syria, Yemen, you name it. But still, prices, although they spiked, they recover to their pre-crisis levels very quickly.鈥�

Geopolitical crises in past decades would 鈥渟end prices soaring,鈥� Nakhle said. But that trend appears outdated, with 萝莉视频 in particular able to 鈥渢ake proactive policies and measures鈥� that compensate for that risk, she added.
The 鈥渃ommitment and clarity鈥� of Vision 2030 means the Kingdom can take on 鈥渞educed鈥� geopolitical risk premiums, she said.
Nakhle also pushed back against the 鈥渙verwhelming thinking鈥� predicting the end of the oil sector in 萝莉视频 as part of the larger 鈥減eak oil鈥� debate.
鈥淚f your economy is always dependent, and you need the oil money to fund all sorts of projects, very ambitious ones, then you鈥檙e in trouble,鈥� she said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a general overwhelming thinking, but that鈥檚 an oversimplification of a much more complex reality, because the big mistake that we should avoid is comparing all oil producers, even within OPEC, of which 萝莉视频 is a leader. They do have a very, very divergent picture when it comes to one producer versus another.
鈥淚鈥檓 not worried about the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). I鈥檓 not worried about 萝莉视频. They have the reserves and they have the low cost of production.鈥�
As well as the strength of its energy sector, 萝莉视频 is funding capital expenditure through deficits in an effort to diversify the economy from oil, said Manish Singh, CEO of Crossbridge Capital.
That effort is working as planned, with the Kingdom harnessing its low debt-to-gross domestic product of 28 percent, as well as the power of major players such as Saudi Aramco and the Public Investment Fund, which boast combined assets of more than $2.3 trillion.
鈥淚f you have things to do locally, and the unemployment rate is low, and you鈥檙e growing your wages and spending, that鈥檚 something that you have to welcome,鈥� Singh said.

On a separate panel discussing 萝莉视频鈥檚 giga-projects, Jerry Inzerillo, CEO of the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, delivered an overview via video of progress in the original home of the Kingdom鈥檚 royal family.
鈥淚n 2023, we finished 9 km of parks, we introduced our hotel practice, which will have 42 new hotels,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e introduced our Diriyah Futures Museum, one of nine, which will open in September of this year.
鈥淲e鈥檒l also open 鈥� in September the first of all 42 hotels. We鈥檙e ahead of schedule, on time and on budget, and we look forward to welcoming everybody.鈥�
Inzerillo was joined by Catalina Valentino, group CEO of ELIXR; and Arta Selmani, CEO of Mimicrete.
Valentino, whose company is the world鈥檚 first global giga-project, praised Vision 2030 for giving 萝莉视频 a 鈥渟hift in purpose.鈥�
She added: 鈥淚 think that there鈥檚 a new generation being born in business, whereas previously it was looking at capitalism 鈥� how do I make money and how do I profit from these companies?
鈥淎nd now there鈥檚 a shift to purpose-led and purpose-driven companies. And we can see that with Vision 2030 for 萝莉视频, there鈥檚 a shift in purpose. What that means is that now we鈥檙e looking at those joints and how we join those up.鈥�