Background to the Place of the Study

Saudi Arabia has witnessed very important progress and has got to an advanced position in the world economy. It is a major centre for the translation of Islamic financial terminology. Its goal is to be the Middle East's first financial district on a scale, and of regulatory and technological standards, to match the major global financial centres. Explaining the background to the Kingdom's ambitious but attainable strategy, King Abdullah said recently, “We are blessed with a robust economy, a stable currency and a strong financial sector with equally strong supervision” (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=348428). Reflecting the importance of Saudi Arabia for both Islamic and general finance, my work will focus on terms used in Saudi banks.

Saudi Arabia is a country situated in Southwest Asia. It is the largest country in Arabia, bordering the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea north of Yemen. Its extensive coastlines on the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage in shipping (especially crude oil ) through the Arabian Gulf and Suez Canal. The kingdom occupies 80 % of the Arabian Peninsula. The country has boundaries with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, the Republic of Yemen, Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait. The Saudi government estimate is that the country covers 2,217,949 square kilometers. Other reputable estimates vary between 2,149,690 square kilometers and 2,240,000 square kilometers. Less than 1 % of the total area is suitable for cultivation, and in the early 1990s population distribution varied greatly among the towns of the eastern and western coastal areas, the densely populated interior oases, and the vast, almost empty deserts. The kingdom is commonly listed as the world's 14th largest state.

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The central institution of the Saudi Arabian government is the Saudi Monarchy. The Basic Law of Government adopted in 1992 declared that Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by the sons and grandsons of the first king, Abd Al Aziz Al Saud. It also states that the Qur'an is the constitution of the country, which is governed on the basis of Shariah (Islamic Law).

Saudi Arabia's economy is petroleum-based; roughly 75% of budget revenues and 90% of export earnings come from the oil industry. The oil industry comprises about 45% of Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product, compared with 40% from the private sector (see below). Saudi Arabia officially has about 260 billion barrels (4.1×1010 m3) of oil reserves, comprising about 24% of the world's proven total petroleum reserves.

In the 1990s, Saudi Arabia experienced a significant contraction of oil revenues, as oil prices fell throughout most of the decade, combined with a high rate of population growth. Per capita income fell from a high of $11,700 at the height of the oil boom in 1981 to $6,300 in 1998. Recent oil price increases have helped boost per capita GDP to $17,000 in 2007 or about $7,400 at 1981 prices adjusted for inflation.

According to the Central Department of Statistics and Information census, the Kingdom's population was 16,529,302 Saudi citizens in 2004. According to the preliminary results of the April 2010 census, which counted people and houses, Saudi Arabia’s population reached 27,136,977 in 2010 of whom 18,529,302 were Saudi citizens, an increase from 2004 of almost 20 percent (http://www.zawya.com/story/ZAWYA20101124035437/). Today, Saudi Arabia is the world's leading petroleum exporter, and the major Saudi Arabian oil and natural gas company, Saudi Aramco (officially Saudi Arabian Oil Company), based in Dhahran in Saudi Arabia, produces and exports more crude oil than any other company at 8 million barrels (1,300,000 m³) per day. This is more than twice the output of the next highest producer and nearly five times greater than the largest U.S. oil company. Aramco is responsible for 99 percent of the Kingdom's proven crude oil reserves of 259 billion barrels (41.2 1010m³) which is approximately a quarter of the world's total conventional reserves. This is more than double the total of Iraq, the country with the world's second largest reserves, and nearly 12 times the reserves of the United States (information taken form website http://www.saudiaramco.com/irj/portal/anonymous).

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Accordingly there is very strong base for the economy, which has resulted in establishing 12 banks in Saudi Arabia (Alinma, Arajhi, Samba, Riyadh, AlJazerah, AlBilad, ANB, The Saudi Investment Bank, Saudi Hollandi Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, Al Ahli Bank). All banks in Saudi Arabia provide a world class service to meet the financial needs of their consumers, and corporate and institutional customers. They achieve this through providing world-class advice, products and customer service, investing in their staff, contributing to their communities and delivering superior returns to their investors.

It is part of these banks' strategy to achieve geographical diversification to expand business and enhance shareholder returns. Most of these banks continue to expand their business into other markets in the GCC and Asia, focusing on the excellence of their products and services, expanding their operations and footprint. Acquisitions have helped them to increase their reach, fine tune service delivery and achieve synergies across client segments.

Saudi bank offers the following services in the Kingdom:

 Private Banking

 ATMs

 Charge Cards

 Debit Cards

 Islamic Credit Cards

 Investment Banking and Brokerage

 Corporate Finance and M&A Services

 Leasing

 FX Derivatives

 Interest Rate Derivatives, phone banking

Over the last two decades there has been an extraordinary rise in the Kingdom's Gross Domestic Product. Economic indicators point to an even more promising future. We can say that Saudi Arabia's success is attributable to the Kingdom's national planning process. The planning function which permeates all areas of governmental activity ensures that the country enjoys the benefits of a long-term economic strategy. There are five development plans, ensuring that the Kingdom's revenues are applied to the essential task of developing Saudi

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Arabia's infrastructure, its industry and agriculture. As I am working in the Ministry of Finance and have been involved in translation of financial terms for a long time, I have significant experience of dealing with and translating financial lexical items. This is then a good opportunity for the researcher to make his research in this field from a translational

perspective. (Information taken from website

http://www.sama.gov.sa/Links/Pages/SaudiBanks.aspx.)