SFS: Saudi securities scene requires educational roadshow
01 May 2025 Saudi Arabia
Image: Ayman/stock.adobe.com
鈥淲hen it comes to the glamorous world of securities, there is an educational roadshow that needs to happen here,鈥� stated Michael O鈥橪oughlin, managing partner at Argonautic Global.
For O鈥橪oughlin, securities are not going away anytime soon, and therefore, lessons need to be learned in order to further develop the market in Saudi Arabia.
鈥淭hose who invest in education in this respect, and focus on the modernisation of the industry of securities, will win the day, not just in the Kingdom, but in the region,鈥� he added.
The 鈥楩ireside Chat鈥� took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the 麻豆传媒 Finance Symposium, and was hosted by Gabriele Frediani, head of business growth at London Reporting House.
Having lived in Saudi Arabia for five years, O鈥橪oughlin worked to build up the fintech ecosystem across capital markets, insurance, and banking.
O鈥橪oughlin was previously chief advisor for innovation, finance, and regulatory strategy at the Saudi Central Bank. Here, his role was to embrace innovation and create a filter for the country to 鈥済et rid of the noise鈥� and build an entrepreneurial mindset.
During the discussion on Saudi and where investors should begin, O鈥橪oughlin provided an overview of the country.
The Kingdom is home to 11 major banks 鈥� soon to be 13 鈥� and has a large population, 90 per cent of which is under the age of 30. It has one of the fastest growing GDPs in the world.
鈥淲hen you combine these different elements, you have a nation of digital natives who demand more, and the banks are going through this constant digital transformation,鈥� he noted.
The introduction of Vision 2030 was bold in O鈥橪oughlin鈥檚 mind, and encompassed financial services as one of its 鈥榢ey pillars鈥�. This pillar in particular (financial services) is 鈥渢he beating heart of banking鈥�.
鈥淚f you look at fintech, the primary use case is payments 鈥� the movement of money. If you look at sport and entertainment, or tourism here, what flows through all of it is money. And if you look at the youth today, they have demand,鈥� noted O鈥橪oughlin.
鈥淭hey want the newest, cutting-edge technologies, and we, here in the Kingdom, are trying to make this an innovation hub. To do that, we have some competition.鈥�
Highlighting the drive of innovation in the country over the past few years, O鈥橪oughlin pinpointed the creation of a virtual assets team within a central bank in Saudi, and how the team is working on tokenised deposits, as well as exploring new technologies such as clear use cases for artificial intelligence across the Kingdom. This, he said, was the 鈥渟tuff of fiction鈥� before he came to the Kingdom.
As part of his work within the Middle East, O鈥橪oughlin helped to educate the Kingdom on what fintechs are, which led to further education within schools, changing of courses within universities, and, overall, an 鈥渆ducational rollercoaster鈥� for the country.
Commenting on innovation, he said: 鈥淲hen I was a startup, for years I had told everyone that regulation kills innovation. I loved seeking forgiveness rather than permission. But if you look at Saudi Arabia, the government does drive an awful lot of innovation. Why? Because the nation has been built on what flows underneath the ground, the oil.鈥�
According to O鈥橪oughlin, 50 per cent of the country鈥檚 GDP is now non-oil based, which closely aligns with the Vision 2030 diversification of the economy.
鈥淭his is a weighting that is considerable, as Saudi Arabia futureproofs its economy, and attracts more foreign direct investment, and builds 13 giga-projects in parallel.鈥�
The change O鈥橪oughlin has seen since 2017-18 in the region is 鈥渞evolutionary鈥�. The amount of foreign direct investments is not simply limited to fintech, but startups too.
While the Vision 2030 offers guidance for foreign investors, there is still more work to be done around navigating the regulatory environment. Once the signposting is clear for all to see, market participants will likely see a 鈥渉ockey stick鈥� growth in the next two years.
For O鈥橪oughlin, securities are not going away anytime soon, and therefore, lessons need to be learned in order to further develop the market in Saudi Arabia.
鈥淭hose who invest in education in this respect, and focus on the modernisation of the industry of securities, will win the day, not just in the Kingdom, but in the region,鈥� he added.
The 鈥楩ireside Chat鈥� took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the 麻豆传媒 Finance Symposium, and was hosted by Gabriele Frediani, head of business growth at London Reporting House.
Having lived in Saudi Arabia for five years, O鈥橪oughlin worked to build up the fintech ecosystem across capital markets, insurance, and banking.
O鈥橪oughlin was previously chief advisor for innovation, finance, and regulatory strategy at the Saudi Central Bank. Here, his role was to embrace innovation and create a filter for the country to 鈥済et rid of the noise鈥� and build an entrepreneurial mindset.
During the discussion on Saudi and where investors should begin, O鈥橪oughlin provided an overview of the country.
The Kingdom is home to 11 major banks 鈥� soon to be 13 鈥� and has a large population, 90 per cent of which is under the age of 30. It has one of the fastest growing GDPs in the world.
鈥淲hen you combine these different elements, you have a nation of digital natives who demand more, and the banks are going through this constant digital transformation,鈥� he noted.
The introduction of Vision 2030 was bold in O鈥橪oughlin鈥檚 mind, and encompassed financial services as one of its 鈥榢ey pillars鈥�. This pillar in particular (financial services) is 鈥渢he beating heart of banking鈥�.
鈥淚f you look at fintech, the primary use case is payments 鈥� the movement of money. If you look at sport and entertainment, or tourism here, what flows through all of it is money. And if you look at the youth today, they have demand,鈥� noted O鈥橪oughlin.
鈥淭hey want the newest, cutting-edge technologies, and we, here in the Kingdom, are trying to make this an innovation hub. To do that, we have some competition.鈥�
Highlighting the drive of innovation in the country over the past few years, O鈥橪oughlin pinpointed the creation of a virtual assets team within a central bank in Saudi, and how the team is working on tokenised deposits, as well as exploring new technologies such as clear use cases for artificial intelligence across the Kingdom. This, he said, was the 鈥渟tuff of fiction鈥� before he came to the Kingdom.
As part of his work within the Middle East, O鈥橪oughlin helped to educate the Kingdom on what fintechs are, which led to further education within schools, changing of courses within universities, and, overall, an 鈥渆ducational rollercoaster鈥� for the country.
Commenting on innovation, he said: 鈥淲hen I was a startup, for years I had told everyone that regulation kills innovation. I loved seeking forgiveness rather than permission. But if you look at Saudi Arabia, the government does drive an awful lot of innovation. Why? Because the nation has been built on what flows underneath the ground, the oil.鈥�
According to O鈥橪oughlin, 50 per cent of the country鈥檚 GDP is now non-oil based, which closely aligns with the Vision 2030 diversification of the economy.
鈥淭his is a weighting that is considerable, as Saudi Arabia futureproofs its economy, and attracts more foreign direct investment, and builds 13 giga-projects in parallel.鈥�
The change O鈥橪oughlin has seen since 2017-18 in the region is 鈥渞evolutionary鈥�. The amount of foreign direct investments is not simply limited to fintech, but startups too.
While the Vision 2030 offers guidance for foreign investors, there is still more work to be done around navigating the regulatory environment. Once the signposting is clear for all to see, market participants will likely see a 鈥渉ockey stick鈥� growth in the next two years.
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