Barclays returns to Saudi Arabia after 11 years out of business
Barclays Plc returns to Saudi Arabia after an 11-year absence, marking a strategic expansion for the British bank and a symbolic affirmation of Riyadh’s growing status as the center of corporate leadership in the Middle East. This step,was first reported by BloombergThis comes as the Kingdom works to accelerate efforts under the country’s Vision 2030 plan to diversify its oil-dependent economy and attract multinational headquarters to its capital.
The bank, which exited Saudi Arabia in 2014, is now obtaining a new investment banking license and plans to open offices in Riyadh by early 2026, CEO CS Venkatakrishnan said in an interview with Bloomberg TV, where he was attending the conference. Global Luck Forum The leading annual company in the Kingdom Future Investment Initiative summit. Confirming the bank’s return to Saudi Arabia and that the kingdom would “recognize” the new regional headquarters within just two days, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih said: “People have seen the Kingdom as a long-term partner. We are not transactional.”
Venkatakrishnan said luck Editor-in-Chief Alison Shontel said working with trusted partners is important “because you’re making fairly large commitments financially and otherwise, and you need to work with partners you can trust who will be there for the long haul and who will help you through the teething issues.”
Barclays joins a growing list of financial giants such as CitigroupGoldman Sachs and HSBC are establishing deeper roots in the largest economy in the Gulf region. By contrast, J.P. Morgan Celebrating 90 years To do business in the area. This step confirms the ambition of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to transform itself from a major oil power into a diversified global commercial and financial center, and into a strategic association through which major companies can easily reach three different continents.
The wider RHQ programme
The economic transformation plan initiated by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia nine years ago, known as Vision 2030In his opening speech at the Fortune Global Forum, Minister Al-Falih said that the project is 85% complete. The strategy has already attracted more than 675 regional headquarters – far exceeding its original target of 500 by 2030 – through generous incentives such as 30-year tax breaks, tax credits and simplified regulatory frameworks.
the government Regional headquarters programmeThis initiative, launched by the Royal Commission for the City of Riyadh in 2021, aims to make the capital an actual economic center for the Middle East. Multinational companies such as PwC, DeloitteLenovo, and Siemens The energy company has already moved its leading operations from Dubai and other hubs to Riyadh. Unlike SEZ offices elsewhere, the Riyadh headquarters are designed to serve as real operational bases – not symbolic branches – to manage corporate strategy and human capital across the Middle East and Africa. Riyadh’s trillion-dollar transformation is also based on… NEOMThe Public Investment Fund, and mega projects in the areas of tourism, artificial intelligence, and green energy – represent a lucrative opportunity for capital providers.
In a breakout session at the Fortune Global Forum, executives hailed the program as transformative in localization, industrialization and innovation. For example, Lenovo executives detailed the construction of the region’s largest ICT manufacturing plant in the Saudi desert, while leaders at Siemens Energy It talked about expanding exports throughout the Middle East through its regional center in Riyadh
In a conversation with Dianne Brady, Executive Editorial Director at Fortune Live Media, executives from Massimo, Siemens and Lucid Motors confirmed that their regional headquarters allowed them to do things like mass production, export vehicles to Europe, and build AI-driven health and transportation systems from within the Kingdom.
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