SFS: Saudi securities scene requires educational roadshow
01 May 2025 Saudi Arabia
Image: Ayman/stock.adobe.com
“When it comes to the glamorous world of securities, there is an educational roadshow that needs to happen here,” stated Michael O’Loughlin, managing partner at Argonautic Global.
For O’Loughlin, securities are not going away anytime soon, and therefore, lessons need to be learned in order to further develop the market in Saudi Arabia.
“Those 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,” he added.
The ‘Fireside Chat’ took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the Securities 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’Loughlin worked to build up the fintech ecosystem across capital markets, insurance, and banking.
O’Loughlin 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 “get rid of the noise” and build an entrepreneurial mindset.
During the discussion on Saudi and where investors should begin, O’Loughlin provided an overview of the country.
The Kingdom is home to 11 major banks — soon to be 13 — 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.
“When 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,” he noted.
The introduction of Vision 2030 was bold in O’Loughlin’s mind, and encompassed financial services as one of its ‘key pillars’. This pillar in particular (financial services) is “the beating heart of banking”.
“If you look at fintech, the primary use case is payments — 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,” noted O’Loughlin.
“They 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.”
Highlighting the drive of innovation in the country over the past few years, O’Loughlin 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 “stuff of fiction” before he came to the Kingdom.
As part of his work within the Middle East, O’Loughlin helped to educate the Kingdom on what fintechs are, which led to further education within schools, changing of courses within universities, and, overall, an “educational rollercoaster” for the country.
Commenting on innovation, he said: “When 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.”
According to O’Loughlin, 50 per cent of the country’s GDP is now non-oil based, which closely aligns with the Vision 2030 diversification of the economy.
“This 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.”
The change O’Loughlin has seen since 2017-18 in the region is “revolutionary”. 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 “hockey stick” growth in the next two years.
For O’Loughlin, securities are not going away anytime soon, and therefore, lessons need to be learned in order to further develop the market in Saudi Arabia.
“Those 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,” he added.
The ‘Fireside Chat’ took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the Securities 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’Loughlin worked to build up the fintech ecosystem across capital markets, insurance, and banking.
O’Loughlin 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 “get rid of the noise” and build an entrepreneurial mindset.
During the discussion on Saudi and where investors should begin, O’Loughlin provided an overview of the country.
The Kingdom is home to 11 major banks — soon to be 13 — 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.
“When 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,” he noted.
The introduction of Vision 2030 was bold in O’Loughlin’s mind, and encompassed financial services as one of its ‘key pillars’. This pillar in particular (financial services) is “the beating heart of banking”.
“If you look at fintech, the primary use case is payments — 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,” noted O’Loughlin.
“They 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.”
Highlighting the drive of innovation in the country over the past few years, O’Loughlin 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 “stuff of fiction” before he came to the Kingdom.
As part of his work within the Middle East, O’Loughlin helped to educate the Kingdom on what fintechs are, which led to further education within schools, changing of courses within universities, and, overall, an “educational rollercoaster” for the country.
Commenting on innovation, he said: “When 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.”
According to O’Loughlin, 50 per cent of the country’s GDP is now non-oil based, which closely aligns with the Vision 2030 diversification of the economy.
“This 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.”
The change O’Loughlin has seen since 2017-18 in the region is “revolutionary”. 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 “hockey stick” growth in the next two years.
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