barclays bank Plc’s return to Saudi Arabia after an 11-year absence marks both a strategic expansion for the British bank and Riyadh’s growing role as a command center for businesses in the Middle East. This move was first initiated by BloombergThis comes as Saudi Arabia is accelerating the implementation of its “Vision 2030” plan to diversify its oil-driven economy and attract multinational corporate headquarters to its capital.
The bank, which exited Saudi Arabia in 2014, is in the process of obtaining a new investment banking license and plans to open an office in Riyadh in early 2026, Chief Executive CS Venkatakrishnan said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. Fortune Global Forum and the Kingdom’s flagship annual future investment plan summit. Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih confirmed that the bank had re-entered Saudi Arabia and that the kingdom “will recognize within days” the new regional headquarters, saying, “People have seen that Saudi Arabia is a long-term partner. We are not transactional.”
Venkata Krishnan told wealth Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell says it’s important to work with a trusted partner. “Because you’re making quite a commitment, financial and otherwise, you need to work with a trusted partner who’s going to be there for the long haul and help you through the early days.”
Barclays joins a growing list of financial giants such as CitigroupGoldman Sachs and HSBC have deeper roots in the Gulf’s largest economy; by comparison, JPMorgan Celebrating 90th Anniversary Do business in the area. The move underscores Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to transform itself from an oil superpower into a diversified global business and financial hub, increasingly a strategic link that allows major companies easy access to three different continents.
Wider regional headquarters plans
Saudi Arabia’s nine-year economic transformation plan, known as Vision 2030Minister Al-Falih said in his opening speech at the Fortune Global Forum that 85% of the work has been completed. Through generous incentives such as 30-year tax exemptions, tax breaks and a simplified regulatory framework, the strategy has attracted more than 675 regional headquarters, far exceeding the original target of 500 regional headquarters by 2030.
government Regional Headquarters PlanLaunched in 2021 by the Royal Commission on Riyadh City, it aims to make the capital the de facto economic center of the Middle East. Multinational companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, DeloitteLenovo and Siemens Energy companies have shifted leadership operations from Dubai and other centers to Riyadh. Unlike SEZ offices elsewhere, the headquarters in Riyadh is designed to serve as a true base of operations, rather than a token branch, managing corporate strategy and human capital across the Middle East and Africa. In addition, Riyadh’s multi-trillion-dollar transformation—to Neomthe Public Investment Fund (PIF) and large-scale projects such as tourism, artificial intelligence and green energy – a lucrative opportunity for capital providers.
During a breakout session at the Fortune Global Forum, executives praised the program as transformative for localization, manufacturing and innovation. For example, Lenovo executives detailed the construction of the region’s largest ICT manufacturing facility in the Saudi desert; Siemens Energy Talks about expanding exports across the Middle East through its regional hub in Riyadh.
Speaking to Diane Brady, executive editorial director of Fortune Live Media, executives from Massimo, Siemens and Lucid Motors stressed that their regional headquarters allow them to do things like mass production, export vehicles to Europe and build AI-driven healthcare and transportation systems within the kingdom.