Citi, a leading global bank, has announced the official opening of its new offices in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located at the Kingdom Tower.

“We are delighted to establish an office in the Kingdom and be open for business on the ground. The expansion to Saudi is in line with our strategy to be present in the region’s biggest economy and contribute to its transformation,” said Michael L Corbat, chief executive officer, Citi.

“Citi continues to support the Kingdom’s national agenda for a diverse and sustainable economy and we aim to play a key role towards realizing this vision. We will strive to make a positive financial and social impact by providing Citi’s best in class resources, capabilities and practices to our partners and stakeholders.”

In 2017, the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority (CMA) granted Citi a license to provide a range of Investment Banking, Debt and Equity Capital Markets, Markets, and Securities Research capabilities to its local and international institutional clients. Citigroup Saudi Arabia recently held its inaugural board meeting in Riyadh, setting the stage for the global bank to deploy its suite of corporate products on the ground to help support Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation.   

“Saudi Arabia is a strategically important market for Citi and we are very proud to re-establish our operations to serve our client base here,’’ said Carmen Haddad, Citi country officer-Saudi Arabia and vice chairperson-Citigroup Saudi Arabia.

‘’Citi looks forward to playing an active role in the Saudi banking sector with the aim of supporting the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.”

At the opening ceremony, the Citi Foundation also announced the renewal of their fifth year of partnership with Education For Employment (EFE), the leading youth employment organization in the Mena region, through a grant worth $300,000.

The EFE-Citi Foundation partnership is part of the Citi Foundation’s Pathways to Progress initiative designed to equip urban youth with career readiness tools and opportunities to thrive in today’s economy. This year, 40 youth from Saudi Arabia will benefit from the EFE program along with youth in the UAE, Morocco and Tunisia.

‘’The EFE partnership falls within our efforts to reach 500,000 youth globally and to help the next generation become work-ready,” said Haddad. “We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with EFE and to help young Saudis build financial and workplace skills.”

“EFE’s 67,000 alumni demonstrate a simple truth: when youth have access to opportunity, they can thrive in life and build brighter futures for their families through five years of partnership, the Citi Foundation’s visionary support for EFE has directly enabled hundreds of Mena youth to enter the world of work, and has helped us build the organizational foundation needed to scale this impact in the long-term,” said Andrew Baird, president and CEO, EFE-Global. – TradeArabia News Service