The Debt Market and Derivatives Forum (DMDF) 2024 has wrapped up, as its panel discussions and workshops, led by finance local and regional experts and professionals, delivered multiple outcomes. The conclusions mostly focused on developing the Kingdom’s capital markets and spurring more foreign investments into Saudi market, which aims to attain a high rank on world’s leading indices.

The Forum, organized yesterday in Riyadh by the Financial Academy (FA) in partnership with Saudi Tadawul Group, featured numerous technical workshops on debt market and derivatives that were conducted by industry experts, professionals and CEOs. Deepening Market Liquidity: Building Resilient Bond Markets, a workshop delivered by Andy Hill, Managing Director of International Capital Market Association (ICMA), was particularly valuable.

In a similar vein, Abdullelah Alqahtani, Domestic Debt and Structured Product Listing Team Leader at Saudi Tadawul, led a workshop on Debt Instruments and Their Effective Role in Corporate Finance that also addressed benefits and risks associated by debt instruments, and reviewed practical cases of issuing debt instruments in the Saudi market. Likewise, Erik Bertrand, CME Group, gave an overview on traded derivatives (fundamentals, requirements and benefits), explaining how to utilize these tools, and the potential benefits of using them in investment and hedging strategies. Finally, Rob Langrick, Chief Product Advocate, CFA Institute, conducted a workshop on debt markets, derivatives, and the role of the CFA Program. He highlighted key concepts and practical applications in debt markets and derivatives. Langrick also pointed out how professionals can leverage the CFA program to enhance their knowledge and skills.

The DMDF, which attracted local and regional stakeholders, was held under the theme of “Unlocking Growth Opportunities” and covered significant finance topics such as Inside KSA’s Debt Capital Market, Derivatives Market Development in the Middle East, and Debt Capital Market Development: Local and Global Trends.

Thanks to the Forum’s panel sessions, participants managed to explore promising opportunities in bond and sukuk market, key emerging potentials for stimulating growth and new insights into futures markets, which would more effectively enhance decision-making and risk management in local and regional finance industry in the future.

The speakers recognized the boom experienced by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s debt and derivatives market thanks to developing multiple vital roles that helped diversify finance resources and boost liquidity, which will pick up local and regional capital markets’ appetite to finance of huge projects, including those of infrastructure and energy. In addition, using derivatives as tools for risk management will witness an expansion, futures and options will have larger role in Saudi markets, and foreign investment inflows will further increase because of the improved regulatory environment and the global investors’ growing confidence.

The Financial Academy, through the Forum, worked with different partners to raise awareness and exchange expertise on various issues such as the new financial instruments, risk management, promoting transparency in markets, and strengthening the Kingdom’s status as a leading regional and global investment destination. In doing so, the FA cooperated with respected local and international entities like Saudi Tadawul Group, Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute. The academy seeks to develop and support national talents by offering training programs and professional certificates that cope with the emerging needs of finance industry.