Hamad Al-Sayari: Recent economic and financial developments in Saudi Arabia Speech by His Excellency Hamad Al-Sayari, Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on the occasion of presenting the 44th Annual Report of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, Riyadh, 11 October 2008. *  *  *  It is a great pleasure for me to present to you the 44th Annual Report of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency which reviews the latest economic and financial developments in the Kingdom. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, During 2007, the national economy continued its strong growth for the fifth consecutive year, with real GDP increasing by 3.4 percent. The roles of the private and the government sectors in the development process were enhanced, recording growth rates of 5.8 percent and 2.7 percent respectively. The State budget witnessed remarkable improvement in 2007, resulting in a surplus for the fifth consecutive year amounting to 12.3 percent of GDP. The balance of payments registered a surplus for the ninth consecutive year which stood at 24.9 percent of GDP. The monetary and banking sector also contributed effectively to the economy by providing adequate liquidity to finance growing and accelerated activities. Financial institutions played a significant role in the growth of the economy by providing various modern financial services. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, With the establishment of the Supreme Economic Council (SEC) under your wise leadership, the Saudi economy has witnessed a dramatic transformation.

Industry platforms such as VBI-COP and the JC3 could potentially play a central role to ‘intermediate’ the data. As a first step, conversations between the Islamic banking and takaful operators to identify impact-driven and innovative financial solutions under VBI and VBIT, can take place to facilitate respective outreach to the underserved or unbanked population. Outside the financial sector, FIs can embark on collaborations with organisations sharing similar sustainability aspirations including state religious authorities, waqf institutions, business industry associations and advocacy groups, or non-governmental organisations who are at the heart of the vulnerable communities. For example, FIs can collaborate with government agencies and utility companies to support the consumers’ shift to energy-efficient residential homes or vehicles. Beyond the existing sustainable financial products offering preferential rates for the purchase of electric vehicles (EV) or green residential properties, more can be done to raise consumer awareness and to develop complementary infrastructure namely, charging stations. Initiatives such as the development of the VBIAF sectoral guides which are now underway for the manufacturing, construction and infrastructure, as well as oil and gas sectors, is a step in the right direction to streamline the cross-sectoral understanding of sustainability issues, thus allowing for better coordination of efforts to address sustainability risks throughout the value chain. In conclusion, it is our fervent hope that with sustainability, an innovative and collaborative mindset, we can come to develop value-driven solutions and discover new avenues for synergistic collaboration.