Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Mohammed Al-Khuwaiz, president of the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA), said that trading based on algorithms represents about 25 percent of the volume of transactions in the Saudi capital market, which confirms the importance of digitization.

Attending a dialogue session on the first day of the 24 Fintech Conference in Riyadh on Tuesday, he said that trading based on algorithms represents about 70 percent of global trading volumes, especially in developed markets.

Al-Khuwaizsaid that “buy now, pay later” is an authorized field, and is the most desired among citizens, and it can be made easier to protect investors and customers. “The financial sector was one of the first sectors to adopt digital transformation, as trade actually began in the 1970s before the launch of the Internet,” he said.

The CMA chief said that Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to introduce digital trade in the 1990s, noting that this trade represents more than 90 percent of traded volumes at present. “The financial services sector represents about 15 percent of global spending on information technology, which illustrates the focus of spending, its importance, and digitization in financial services,” he added.