To spread financial literacy among school students, thus creating a generation that is aware of sound financial planning and enhancing awareness about sound saving and investment practices among the youth, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) participated in the summer student program organized by the Ministry of Education by holding remote lectures and workshops to a large number of (Cycle 3) male and female students, aging 14 to 17.
The lectures and workshops covered various topics, including personal financial planning and saving, the uses of modern technology in the provision of funding, and modern enterprises and entrepreneurship. The lectures provided an overview of capital markets and financial regulation and distinguished between SCA’s role and that of the capital markets. They also gave an introduction to capital markets and the incorporation of public joint stock companies. SCA’s participation in the program comes as part of the efforts of the Awareness and Financial Inclusion Section to promote awareness among all segments of the community and as part of the National Investor Awareness and Financial Inclusion Project.
The lectures were delivered by Khaled Al Obaidli, Head of the Capital Market Intermediaries Section; Asma Khamis Mana, Head of the Corporate Finance Section; Soha Ragab, Financial Market Expert; and Abdulla Al Ali, Assistant Financial Analyst.
Al Obaidli talked about personal financial planning and saving and how they are closely connected to the stability of household and personal conditions. Among the other topics discussed were the definition of personal financial planning, the execution of a financial plan, the difference between saving and investing, and the concept of investment portfolios.
For her part, Mana discussed different company types and defined a public joint stock company as a company whose capital is divided, by law, into equal parts called shares subscribed to for certain purpose(s) to receive the dividends paid to shareholders. She also talked about the main features and characteristics of public joint stock companies, in addition to their formation conditions and why they are incorporated.
Ragab delivered two lectures. She talked in the first about the fundamentals of investing in capital markets to familiarize participating students with the concepts, instruments, key actors, and the role capital markets play in the national economy. She also talked about:
• Capital markets role in terms of providing appropriate funding to governments and companies to enable them to expand their activities, which will enable markets to provide multiple benefits to productive enterprises.
• Uses and types of assets to invest in including stocks, bonds, investment funds, commodities, and alternative investments.
• Primary and secondary markets and their roles.
In her second lecture, Ragab talked about innovation in the financial sector and financial technology. It aimed to familiarize students with the concept of innovation in the financial industry being one of the key advancements that occurred in this important industry and a major factor in improving the economy, enhancing people’s lives, raising the efficiency of the services provided, and reducing the costs borne by individuals and institutions alike.
She said that financial technology (fintech) advancements are among the key innovations in the financial industry and that they are employed to help companies and organizations improve their operations, products, and services.
The lecture dealt with fintech scope and uses and outlined its advantages such as saving time and effort, improving the overall efficiency of the financial sector, and increasing financial inclusion. It discussed risks associated with technological innovations, especially the legal, regulatory, and operational risks that organizations adopting these technologies are exposed to, in addition to cybersecurity, confidentiality, and data security risks.