Five facts about Saudi Arabia’s new finance minister

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman issued on Monday a royal decree appointing Mohammed Al-Jadaan as the kingdom’s new finance minister, replacing long-serving minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf, who had held the position since 1996. 

Al-Jadaan, founding partner of Al-Jadaan & Partners Law Firm, has held several key posts over the years. Below are five facts about the new man in charge, who will have to steer the economy through troubled waters as slumping oil prices take their toll.

1) Al-Jadaan studied Islamic law and economy at the Riyadh-based Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University in 1986. He earned a Master’s of Law from the Institute of Public Administration in Riyadh in 1997.

2) In 2015, he became the chairman of the Capital Market Authority (CMA), which is in charge of regulating Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange.

3) He served on Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Economic Council (2009-2015) and as board chairman at the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA).

4) The new minister was also a member of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the CMA’s advisory committee, and the chamber of commerce and industry's lawyers committee.

5) Al-Jadaan has repeatedly advised boards on corporate organization and commercial matters, including shareholder rights, initial public offerings (IPOs), mergers and acquisitions, as well as Islamic law and finance.  His experience also extends to all aspects of capital market transactions and documenting and negotiating international project financing. 

Write to Reem Abdellatif at reem.a@argaam.com