The only premier initiative for trade finance development in the Kingdom opened yesterday (Nov. 15) at Le Meridien – Jeddah with the official endorsement of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. With Saudi Arabia going through a major transformation and the National Transformation Plan attracting the public interest and inspiring private sector to contribute to the diversification of the nation's economy, the summit is designed to discuss the future of Kingdom's trade developments. Under the theme "Shaping the Kingdom's Economy: A bright future unfolds, the 4th annual Saudi Trade Finance Summit is bringing together government regulatory authorities, finance professionals from leading corporates along with top financial institutions and technology solution providers to discuss current trade trends and challenges faced by organizations in order to create a thriving economy for the Kingdom. After successfully hosting the previous three editions in Riyadh, the summit organizer's QnA International are bringing the event to Jeddah and have received an overwhelming response from the regional businesses. Speaking about the Summit, Sidh N.C, Director, QnA International said "the STF summit serves as a crucial platform for connecting the key stakeholders for trade finance development in the Kingdom and highlight the future trends for the trade finance business in the Kingdom." "As trade business is a dominant contributor to the country's GDP, appropriate trade related solutions catered to clients through new concepts, products, and solutions need to be provided and conferences such as the STF Summit can increase awareness of the latest developments in this important field," said Anjum Noman Mirza, Head—Trade Finance Sales and Solutions Department, Corporate Banking Group, Banque Saudi Fransi who have been supporting the summit as a Platinum Sponsor for the past few years. Each year the summit puts a spotlight on the innovations in the sector and this year again a lot of innovative concepts will be revealed at the summit. Arup Roy, Head of Global Transaction Banking, Saudi British Bank (SABB), believes "the demand for innovative products under Islamic principles is to scale new heights. Banks are expected to expand products beyond traditional offerings such as providing Islamic finance to suit financial requirements at different stages of payable and receivable cycles, and also provide unfunded risk coverage." With the current diversification initiatives across the Kingdom, the summit will cover a crucial topic on financing the growth of commodity trade by addressing concerns and discussing strategies through Qatar National Bank's session. While talking about the SMEs role in trade development, Al Rajhi Bank stresses that Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 will unlock the full potential of the SME sector in Saudi Arabia by addressing the challenges and focusing on initiatives to increase the size of the SME segment and its contribution to Saudi's GDP. Riyad Bank, one of the major supporters of the STF Summit for past few years, will also give their perspective on the current usage of Letters of Credit in Saudi Arabia and explore on the new trade mechanisms available. Another important area of focus is credit information asymmetry within the trade environment which will be discussed at the summit from the government authority SIMAH (Saudi Credit Bureau) along with a focus on the risks in Trade Credit. The summit is also being supported by BNP Paribas, Emirates NBD, SAP, The Saudi Investment Bank and Tawreeq Holdings, who joined the leading CFOs from the Kingdom in panel discussions that address the current challenges faced by Saudi organizations and brainstorm on the best possible solutions and strategies. — SG
