3.1 trillion riyals.. Saudi Arabia is the largest market for Islamic finance

The Governor of the Saudi Central Bank, "Sama", Ayman bin Muhammad Al-Sayyari, said that the Islamic financial sector worldwide is witnessing rapid growth, as the value of the sector's assets exceeded 11.2 trillion riyals, with an average growth rate of 9.6% over the past three years.

Al-Sayyari stressed that Saudi Arabia's relationship with Islamic finance is firm and historical, as it includes the largest market for Islamic finance in the world, and the total Islamic assets across sectors amount to more than 3.1 trillion riyals, and the Islamic banking sector alone represents approximately 33% of the assets of Islamic banks worldwide.

Largest sovereign issuer of sukuk

He pointed out that the Kingdom is the largest sovereign issuer of sukuk in the world, and the cooperative insurance sector in the Kingdom is the fastest growing globally, with a rate of nearly 27% for the year 2022 AD, according to the Saudi Press Agency, “SPA”.

This came during the opening speech of the symposium on the twentieth anniversary of the Islamic Financial Services Board accompanying the annual meetings of the Board, which is hosted by the Saudi Central Bank from August 14 to 16, 2023 in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to discuss developments in the Islamic financial sector, and to enhance the strength of the Islamic financial services industry. and its stability.

Financial Services Board

On the sidelines of the annual meetings of the Islamic Financial Services Board, a number of accompanying events were organized in the presence of elite specialists and decision-makers. Dialogue sessions were held during which the course of development of the Islamic financial industry and its role in the general framework of the economic development of countries were reviewed, and encouragement of more international cooperation in this regard.

  In addition to highlighting the report of the Islamic Financial Services Board for the year 2023, and the most important aspirations amid the tightening of global financial conditions, as well as assessing the safety and resilience of the sectors of this industry, which generally include Islamic banking, financial markets, and Islamic insurance, and the links between these sectors.

Saudi Telecom Company

On a related note, informed sources revealed that the Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has renewed its interest once again in entering the Egyptian market during the current period, following the attempt that took place in 2020 to acquire Vodafone’s global stake in its unit in Egypt, before transferring its ownership to the South African “Vodacom”.