FII9: Standard Chartered ‘very optimistic’ about Saudi Arabia amid investment boom — CEO
RIYADH: London-based Standard Chartered bank is ramping up operations in Saudi Arabia as it seeks to capture opportunities from the Kingdom’s rapid economic transformation, according to Group CEO Bill Winters.
Speaking to Asharq Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Winters said the lender believes Saudi Arabia is going through a “fundamental investment boom” amid rapid economic change.
Winters’ comments underscore the key role international banks are playing in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a strategic framework to diversify the economy away from oil dependence.
“We’re very optimistic about Saudi,” Winters said. “We opened up a full bank ... have a full banking license in Saudi going back about five years, which we’re fully ramping up as we speak — building quite substantially in the Kingdom,” he said.
