Saudi Arabia Replaces Central Bank Head, Lays Out Fund Goals
Bloomberg 1/25/2021 Abeer Abu Omar, Vivian Nereim and Matthew Martin
(Bloomberg) Saudi Arabia replaced its central bank governor and said it would more than double the size of its sovereign wealth fund by 2025 as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sets the stage for a flagship investment conference this week.
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Ahmed Alkholifey was removed from his position heading the monetary authority. He is being replaced by Fahad Al-Mubarak, who was central bank governor from 2011 to 2016. The reason for the change wasn’t given.
The central bank and the $400 billion Public Investment Fund are set to play an increasingly important role in powering the domestic recovery as the government looks to boost an economy hit by the twin shocks of the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices. The central bank’s mandate was recently expanded to include supporting economic growth, while the crown prince h
Digital transformation: What are the key challenges that regional banks continue to face?
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Digitisation is underway and accelerating in the Middle East – but what are the key technologies being deployed?
by Bana Akkad Azhari
January 10, 2021
Banking in the Middle East is undergoing a digital transformation. Today, businesses are increasingly expecting faster, more streamlined and efficient solutions. And banks are evolving rapidly to support their clients’ growing needs – fine-tuning existing technologies, as well as exploring how to leverage new, innovative developments.
The move paves the way for Buna to continue expanding its network of participants and currencies, he said.
“Our focus will always be to offer modern payment solutions across the Arab region and beyond, within the highest standards of information security and in compliance with international standards.”
In February, the AMF rolled out Buna, a multi-currency platform that enables financial institutions, including commercial lenders and central banks in the Arab world, to send and receive cross-border payments.
Last week, Saudi Arabia s riyal was included as the third Arab settlement currency in Buna after the UAE dirham and Egyptian pound.
The kingdom s largest lender, National Commercial Bank, was nominated as a settlement bank for the Saudi riyal, the AMF and Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority said in a December 24 statement.
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Saudi Arabia s riyal has been included as a settlement currency in the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) s regional cross-border payment system, becoming the third Arab currency to join the platform.
The kingdom s largest lender National Commercial Bank (NCB) has been assigned as a settlement bank for the Saudi currency, according to a joint statement from the AMF and Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority on Thursday.
The Saudi riyal s inclusion in Buna, as the AMF payments clearing and settlement system is known, follows the acceptance of the UAE dirham and Egyptian pound. We are on the right track to realise our strategic goal of adding key currencies to our platform in a consistent and sustainable pattern, Abdulrahman Al Hamidy, director general and chairman of the AMF board, said. Adding the Saudi riyal to Buna’s list of settlement currencies, represents additional solid proof of the added value that our multi-currency platform can bring not only at regional level, but to the g
Saudi Arabia POS Terminal Market is projected toat a CAGR of 7.7% during 2020-2026.
Saudi Arabia POS terminal market is expected to register considerable growth principally due to the increasing adoption of card transactions and technological advancement in the country. An increase in the number of pilgrims and tourists is also acting as a growth driver of the POS terminal market in Saudi Arabia.
Based on the data provided by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), the number of POS transactions has shown a growth rate of approximately 30% from the year 2019 to Q2 2020. Additionally, several players are perusing partnerships and acquisitions to gain market share and enhance their customer base in Saudi Arabia. For instance, Gidea, one of the providers of payment systems has partnered with Linga in January 2020.