Industry expert Saud Al Tassan joined EFG Hermes KSA in 2022. With more than 15 years of solid experience, he is well-equipped to navigate the complexities of investment banking. He believes the launch of lending and securities borrowing services marks a pivotal expansion of EFG Hermes KSA’s growing product portfolio in the Kingdom.
EFG Hermes KSA recently introduced securities borrowing and lending services, marking a significant expansion of its product portfolio. What are your next strategic priorities for service expansion in the Kingdom, and how do you see these new offerings positioning EFG Hermes KSA to capture market share in an increasingly competitive landscape?
The launch of our securities borrowing and lending (SBL) services represents a significant milestone in our efforts to enhance market depth and expand our product offering in Saudi Arabia. This initiative strengthens overall market efficiency, supports greater liquidity, and reinforces our role as a leading intermediary for institutional clients, both locally and internationally.
Building on this momentum, we are actively exploring market-making activities, advancing our electronic trading capabilities with more sophisticated algorithms, and revamping our retail platform to engage a broader and more diverse investor base. These initiatives are designed to grow our market share, unlock new value for our clients, and further cement our position as one of the Saudi market’s most innovative and dominant brokers.
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From your vantage point leading EFG Hermes KSA, how would you characterize the current level of global investor interest in Saudi equities and capital markets? What specific sectors or opportunities are drawing the most attention from international institutional investors, and what role is the company playing in facilitating these cross-border flows?
EFG Hermes has established itself as a primary access point for global investors looking to tap into the Kingdom’s capital markets. Over the years, we’ve seen a significant rise in international institutional interest, driven by the ongoing economic transformation under Vision 2030, increased market openness, and the inclusion of Saudi equities in major global indices.
This interest has been especially strong in sectors aligned with the Kingdom’s diversification goals, such as healthcare, education, consumer, logistics, and technology. While the majority of the demand we raise is from Saudi institutions, EFG Hermes plays a pivotal role in facilitating incremental cross-border flows by connecting high-quality Saudi issuers with global capital, offering deep market expertise, and ensuring seamless investor engagement throughout the IPO process.
How are regional socio-political and economic dynamics affecting investor sentiment toward Saudi Arabia specifically, and what impact, if any, have you observed on EFG Hermes KSA’s business operations and deal flow? Looking ahead, what is your outlook for navigating potential headwinds while maintaining growth momentum?
Despite broader regional dynamics, investor sentiment toward Saudi Arabia has remained resilient, underpinned by the Kingdom’s long-term structural reforms, strong fiscal position, and commitment to Vision 2030. International investors continue to view Saudi Arabia as a stable and compelling investment destination, particularly given its sustained economic diversification efforts and the government’s proactive approach to regulatory and capital market development. These fundamentals have helped maintain confidence and support continued deal activity.
At EFG Hermes, we have not observed any material impact on our operations or deal flow. On the contrary, we are seeing an uptick in activity across the board. Importantly, our business is not solely dependent on cross-border transactions — the majority of our current pipeline consists of local IPOs and domestic M&A deals, which continue to gain strong traction.
While we remain mindful of potential macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds, we are confident in our ability to navigate them by broadening our product suite, expanding our client relationships, and reinforcing our position as the leading investment bank in the Kingdom and the broader region. This focused approach ensures we remain well-positioned to capture growth opportunities and deliver long-term value to our clients.
As we approach the midpoint of Saudi Vision 2030, how would you assess the program’s progress in developing the Kingdom’s capital markets? Can you share specific metrics on EFG Hermes KSA’s contribution to this transformation, particularly regarding the number of IPOs, debt issuances, or M&A transactions your firm has advised on since the launch of Saudi Vision 2030?
As we approach the midpoint of Vision 2030, the progress made in developing Saudi Arabia’s capital markets has been both substantial and encouraging. Regulatory reforms, increased depth and sophistication of the market, and growing institutional participation have all contributed to positioning the Kingdom as a key global investment destination.
At EFG Hermes, we are strong believers in the Vision and have actively strived to become a major contributor to this transformation, particularly within the capital markets and financial services ecosystem. We have had the privilege of advising government-related entities such as Aramco, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and several of its portfolio companies on landmark IPOs and M&A transactions — both domestic and cross-border.
Thanks to the dedication and talent of our team, we’ve become the advisor of choice to some of the Kingdom’s largest institutions for their most strategic ECM and M&A mandates. Since 2019, we have advised on nearly 20 IPOs — including two accelerated book builds (ABBs) — as well as numerous transformative M&A transactions that are actively reshaping strategic sectors of the Saudi economy.
Beyond transaction execution, we continue to play an instrumental role in attracting foreign capital into the Kingdom. In 2024, we collaborated with Tadawul to host the EFG Hermes Saudi Forum in London in Emirates Stadium, which included 102 presenting companies across various sectors, 590 guests from around the world, with institutional investors and fund managers from over 138 global investment firms, conducting over 3,800 meetings, which is a testament to the conference’s success. These efforts reflect our long-term commitment to deepening Saudi Arabia’s integration with global capital markets and driving the success of Vision 2030.
Given the ambitious pipeline of privatizations and mega-projects under Vision 2030, how is EFG Hermes KSA positioning itself to capture advisory mandates for these landmark transactions? What competitive advantages does your firm bring to the table, particularly in sectors like tourism, entertainment, and renewable energy that are central to the Kingdom’s economic diversification agenda?
EFG Hermes is strategically positioning itself to play a leading role in the Kingdom’s ambitious pipeline of privatizations and giga-projects under Vision 2030. Backed by a 40-year legacy of successful deal-making across all major sectors, we bring a wealth of experience, execution capability, and sector-specific insight to every mandate.
Our strong local presence and proven track record advising on some of the Kingdom’s most high-profile IPOs and M&A transactions make us a trusted advisor to both public and private sector clients. In parallel, our award-winning research platform — recognized by Tadawul as the Best Research House for three consecutive years — gives us a deep and differentiated understanding of the sectors driving Saudi Arabia’s transformation.
In high-priority sectors such as tourism, entertainment, and renewable energy, we already have strong credentials. We are currently advising several major players, which gives us a unique vantage point and competitive edge. Our ability to combine deep local expertise with world-class standards enables us to bridge capital and strategic partnerships in a way few others can.
These strengths, coupled with our multi-disciplinary team and long-standing commitment to the Kingdom, ensure we are well-positioned to capture and add value to landmark transactions that are shaping the future of Saudi Arabia’s diversified economy.
