Saudi Arabia to see rise in M&A activity in 2019 – KPMG

Merger and acquisition activity (M&A activity) in Saudi Arabia is expected to witness a leap during 2019, according to a recent survey conducted by KPMG.

The survey is based on interviews with more than 1,300 executives from large companies across the world and in key industry sectors, including asset management, automotive, banking, consumer and retail, energy, infrastructure, insurance, life sciences, manufacturing, technology, and telecommunications.

Abdullah Al Fozan, CEO of KPMG, said that local and foreign investors have gained confidence in the Saudi market due to the positive fundamentals and continued growth of the economy supported by the ongoing economic reform under vision 2030.

"Confidence is being driven by international investors keen to invest in long-term projects, which reflects back onto international players looking to expand into promising geographies that offer high returns while operational costs remain low,” the rating agency said.

He added that around 84% of global CEOs have a moderate or high M&A appetite for the coming three years.

Source: Mubasher