The Saudi banking sector remains “an attractive destination” for international investors, despite some fourth-quarter losses in 2008, Kuwait's Global Investment House (GIH) has said. “The overall good asset quality of the Saudi banking sector is maintained, with well provisioned banks' balance sheets and not reporting even a single bailout during the 2008 global crisis,” the Kuwaiti investment company said in research note. Saudi Arabia has significant potential to secure investments, given its optimistic macro-economic outlook, favorable demographics, and ability to support infrastructure investments, which all bodes well for the banking sector, according to GIH. “The supportive domestic economic measures, coupled with banks' restructuring plans and efforts to lower dependence on revenues from equity markets provide a window for a modest banking sector performance in 2009,” analysts at GIH said. Saudi's central bank governor Wednesday insisted that the economy is not in recession, pledging to do whatever was necessary to support the domestic economy.
