Council of Saudi Chambers & TBY discuss Saudi economy in a roundtable.

Saudi Arabia, March 28, 2016—The Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC), in collaboration with leading international research firm The Business Year (TBY), organized a roundtable titled “Strategic Transformation to boost economic growth” in a bid to enhance awareness of the opportunities available to businesspeople in Saudi Arabia, while informing the global investment community of current economic realities in the Arab Kingdom.

The roundtable took place on Monday, March 28, in at the CSC’s Riyadh headquarter and focused on the role that both the government and the private sector are playing to reshape and revitalize the Saudi economy.

The speakers were critical representatives of major Saudi institutions: Abdulrahman Al Zamil, Chairman of CSC; Dr. Faisal Alsugair, Chairman of Saudi Civil Aviation Holding Company (SCAHC); Mohammed Al Hussein, Secretary General of Council of Cooperative Health Insurance (CCHI); and Tawfiq Al Ohali, acting CEO of National Unified Procurement Company for Medical Supplies (NUPCO). The moderator was Mr. Leland Rice, Editor-in-Chief of The Business Year.

The participants spoke about privatization and other aspects of the national transformation plan, and how there reforms impact their respective sectors and companies.

Opening the discussion, Mr. Al Zamil said, “The old way of doing business doesn’t work anymore,” and he spoke about how the drop in oil price is bringing “golden opportunities” for the country as the Government and private companies are now induced to adopt best practices and increase efficiency.

Referring to the plunge of the commodity’s price, Dr. Faisal Alsugair assured that this “short-term crisis is prompting a long-term improvement” and explained how the ongoing privatization process will bring more efficiency for all airports’ users.

Mohammed Al Hussein stated that “privatization is very attractive in health sector.” Mr. Tawfiq Al Ohali pointed out that “no matter how much the Government spends, demand is always higher for medical and pharmaceutical supplies” and said that NUPCO will handle the whole pharma chain, increasing efficiency and decreasing cost for the Government.

The Business Year is currently conducting a research in the Kingdom for the third edition of The Business Year: Saudi Arabia, which will provide readers with in-depth analysis on the major sectors of the economy through up-to-date facts and figures—at both the macroeconomic and microeconomic levels—explaining how the country survives and thrives despite a low oil price crisis. The Council of Saudi Chambers is a strategic partner of the international business and research firm.