Saudi Power Broker Attias Sees Uplift in FII Dealmaking

Bloomberg

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00:00Mr. Atias, so good to be speaking to you.

00:02Of course, we are day zero of FII this year.

00:05It's a pleasure to be here as ever.

00:08Talk us through your expectations for this year's forum

00:11and what you're expecting also in terms of deal-making.

00:14Thank you, Jumana, for having me.

00:15Always a pleasure to be with Bloomberg.

00:18To be honest, I think it will be a year full of surprises.

00:21Not because we know what is going to happen,

00:24but my feeling is that living in this totally unpredictable world,

00:27when we wake up every morning and we have some news

00:31from geopolitics, geo-economics,

00:34I think we will hear probably many new things

00:37because FII9 is now by far the biggest

00:43and the largest gathering that we were expecting.

00:4612,000 people registered,

00:49900 C-suite CEOs,

00:5320 head of states,

00:55600 media.

00:57250 stations,

00:59620 speakers.

01:01These numbers are definitely

01:04and will definitely create something.

01:07The question is what?

01:08I'm expecting probably more than just knowing

01:11where AI is going

01:13or where the renewable energy is going.

01:15I think we will hear probably from great leaders

01:18because we have definitely la creme de la creme

01:20in all sectors.

01:21And believe it or not,

01:23before the previous 8th edition,

01:2772% of the speakers were coming from the finance sector.

01:31This year, 52% coming from the tech industry.

01:36So I'm expecting definitely some news

01:39coming from how technology, not just AI,

01:43will disrupt all sectors and all industries

01:46and probably big deals will be announced.

01:49Can you give us an estimate of what you're expecting

01:52in terms of deal size

01:53or at least how it compares to prior years?

01:55I will not be surprised

01:57if we go at least 20, 25% higher than last year.

02:00Last year, I think it was around $40 billion.

02:02So you can make the calculation.

02:04Bloomberg, you are very good

02:05in mathematics and statistics and data.

02:08But I think many deals,

02:11we don't even know they will be announced.

02:14Because when I see people who invited themselves

02:16at the very last minute,

02:19big global CEOs who, by the way,

02:21declined our invitation in March, April, May,

02:24and suddenly two weeks ago,

02:26they called and said,

02:26oh, I'm free, can I come?

02:28They will probably make some deals happening,

02:31not only with the kingdom, globally.

02:34Plus, when I see the appetite

02:35from all leaders coming from China,

02:37from United States, from Africa,

02:39from the region, even from Europe,

02:43and including what we call

02:44the medium-sized countries,

02:46we have almost all the Balkans here,

02:48Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania.

02:52Something is happening.

02:53So let me tell you something.

02:54The last time I was here

02:55in this exact venue was in May.

02:58Because President Trump...

02:58President Trump visited.

02:59President Trump paid a visit.

03:01Actually, in this hall, nearby,

03:03reporting for Bloomberg,

03:04how do you feel the energy

03:06towards Saudi Arabia and to FII

03:08has changed this year

03:10on back of the momentum

03:11that's coming through

03:12from the U.S. administration?

03:14There is a momentum,

03:15definitely from the U.S.,

03:17but there is a moment.

03:18Because, as you say,

03:1932%, one-third of our population

03:21is coming from the United States.

03:24Because this country,

03:26despite all the challenges

03:27they are facing,

03:29is still pioneering on many sectors,

03:31from vaccines,

03:33healthcare, innovation, technology,

03:36and so far and so on.

03:38And as you know better than me,

03:39President Trump is definitely

03:42giving the direction of the wind

03:43almost every day, every week,

03:45by signing different decrees,

03:47resolution, etc.

03:48Posts.

03:49Absolutely.

03:50So this influenced a lot

03:52the global conversation

03:53on geoeconomics

03:55and also on geopolitics,

03:56because now we see

03:57a very strong connection

03:59between politics and economy.

04:02Yeah.

04:02And what is happening

04:03in the region currently

04:04is absolutely crucial.

04:07We're talking about

04:08the renaissance of Syria.

04:10We're talking about

04:11the renaissance of Gaza.

04:13We're talking about

04:13rebuilding these countries,

04:15which are now finally,

04:16I hope, part of the global map.

04:20So I think we'll hear

04:21a lot from that.

04:23I was stopped coming to you.

04:24I was stopped by

04:25at least 20 people on my way

04:27who I was not expecting

04:28to see here,

04:29who are real estate developers,

04:31who are hotel,

04:33big hotel chain managers.

04:35And they are here

04:35because apparently

04:36they will be talking about

04:38what to do in the region.

04:39Yeah.

04:40Yeah.

04:41Well, to your point,

04:41President Sharaa is also coming.

04:43Correct.

04:43This is why.

04:44And he's not only coming.

04:46He asked to meet

04:47with almost all the top

04:49big 50 global CEOs.

04:51And probably he wants to pitch

04:53Syria opportunities,

04:55which I think are very solid

04:57and very valid.

04:58So let me ask you about,

05:00I have many conversations

05:01with people here

05:02and they talk to me

05:03about how this part of the world

05:05is a connector

05:05between East and West.

05:07How does FII Institute

05:09sort of play some of the,

05:11not play,

05:11or I don't want to use that term,

05:12but react to some

05:14of the geopolitical sensitivities

05:16right now

05:16between the U.S. and China?

05:18Because, of course,

05:19you do have, you know,

05:21the VP of China

05:22addressing the conference tomorrow.

05:24Do you also see it

05:25as an important part

05:27of your own role

05:28to be a connector

05:29between East and West as well?

05:30I don't want to be pretentious,

05:32but I have to say

05:33that 10 years ago,

05:34almost,

05:35he's right on as a crown prince.

05:37He was deputy crown prince

05:38at that time,

05:38had an amazing vision,

05:39and he was 27 years old.

05:42And he is the one

05:43who suggested

05:44to create a global platform,

05:46a global conversation.

05:48And here we are today,

05:49which means not only

05:50we have probably

05:51the largest investment conference

05:53in the world,

05:54but we helped

05:55and made

05:56and positioned Riyadh

05:57as being probably

05:58one of the top capitals

06:00in the world

06:01in terms of economy

06:02and investment.

06:02So, yes,

06:04I think FII contributed

06:05for being a platform

06:07where once a year

06:09everyone can be here

06:10and talk about opportunities,

06:13about the trends,

06:14about investment.

06:15We are not anymore,

06:17I think it was our mandate,

06:19the kingdom of MOUs.

06:21We are the place

06:22where deals are made

06:23and signed,

06:24which is extremely important,

06:25very concrete,

06:26very tangible.

06:27So, yes,

06:28I think we contributed

06:29to this achievement.

06:32And even if you look

06:33at the world map,

06:34by definition,

06:35the Arabic Peninsula,

06:37as you know very well,

06:38is very well positioned

06:40and is a barycenter

06:41and the connector

06:42and the catalyst

06:43between north,

06:44south and west and east.

06:45And in 2017,

06:47we knew already

06:48that this big shift

06:49between west and east

06:50was happening.

06:51And three,

06:52four years ago,

06:52we knew also

06:53that the shift

06:54was happening

06:54between the north

06:55and what you call now

06:56the global south.

06:58So, extremely well positioned

06:59and it makes sense

07:00that FII

07:02is playing

07:04a very influential role

07:06on these global conversations.

07:07And, of course,

07:07FII has expanded.

07:09You have FII Miami.

07:10There's FII Japan

07:11coming up as well.

07:12How does that fit

07:13into the picture

07:14of how you want

07:16the institute to grow

07:17and also what it means

07:18for Saudi Arabia

07:18and its global footprint?

07:19First of all,

07:20I think the FII Institute

07:21from the very beginning

07:23was born to be

07:24a global not-for-profit organization.

07:27We cannot host

07:28and welcome everyone

07:29in Riyadh

07:30for many reasons.

07:31You know,

07:31in October,

07:32you have many board meetings

07:33happening.

07:34You have people

07:35who cannot travel to Riyadh

07:36because it's too far

07:37and so far and so on.

07:39So, this is why

07:39we got so many requests

07:41from our members

07:41because we are also

07:42a membership organization

07:43about, hey,

07:44if we can not come to you,

07:45please come to us.

07:46And this started

07:47with Miami,

07:48which is becoming

07:49also another big hub

07:50worldwide,

07:51extremely big success

07:53in Miami

07:53with many people

07:54coming from the AI,

07:55the tech industries,

07:57people flying

07:57from the Silicon Valley

07:58to come to Florida.

08:00And then,

08:00little by little,

08:01we realized

08:02that we need to go

08:03to Latin America.

08:04At the beginning,

08:04we have only 2%

08:05of our members

08:07and delegates

08:08coming from Latin America.

08:09So,

08:09we went to Rio de Janeiro,

08:11amazing success.

08:13Then,

08:13people are coming.

08:14We have so many people

08:15from Latin America,

08:16Argentina,

08:16Colombia,

08:17Brazil.

08:18We have the Prince

08:19of Colombia coming.

08:20We have the big

08:22official representative

08:24from Uruguay,

08:26Ecuador coming.

08:27So,

08:27great.

08:28And then,

08:28we decided also

08:29to go to Asia.

08:30And when we were

08:31talking about

08:32where to go to Asia,

08:34we said,

08:34okay,

08:34let's go to

08:35this amazing country

08:37where they say

08:38one country,

08:38two systems,

08:39which is China.

08:40So,

08:40we went to Hong Kong.

08:41And great.

08:42Now,

08:42we are going to Tokyo

08:44to explore the new Asia.

08:45So,

08:46we are following the trends,

08:47but we are also listening

08:49to our members

08:50who are giving you

08:51an indication

08:51about where they want

08:53global conversations

08:54to happen,

08:55including Africa,

08:57including definitely

08:58this part of the world

09:01which is,

09:02as you perfectly say,

09:03a global connector

09:04now,

09:05playing a big role.

09:06As you know,

09:07we have coming soon

09:09Expo 2030,

09:10the World Cup 2034.

09:12It's beyond

09:13the GIGA project

09:14that we call them.

09:16So many industries

09:16are impacted

09:17by big transformation.

09:19And many opportunities

09:21are happening there.

09:22So,

09:23Bloomberg have been reporting

09:24that FII

09:25is planning an IPO.

09:27Not FII.

09:28It's,

09:29in fact,

09:30my other company,

09:32which is our event management

09:33and communication strategy firm,

09:36Richard Atias and Associates,

09:37which I created 15 years ago,

09:39which is producing FII

09:40and which is owned now 75%

09:43by Sanabil,

09:44which is part of PIF.

09:46So,

09:46the answer is yes,

09:47we are working hard.

09:48Your colleagues

09:48were very well informed.

09:49And definitely,

09:51we are in the process

09:52of IPO readiness,

09:54hoping to definitely

09:55list in the first semester

09:59of 2026.

10:00Here in Saudi.

10:01Inshallah.

10:02that.

10:26nsid

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