Protecting the Balance Sheet While Building Long Term Value
“Protect the balance sheet before you grow the P&L. Growth on a weak balance sheet is acceleration towards failure.”
Mohamed Bellal
Group Chief Financial Officer | Pharma Pharmaceutical Industries and Shilpa High Potency
Published on Nov 4, 2026
Strategic finance is not simply about choosing investments with the highest projected returns. It requires resilient cash flows, disciplined governance, regulatory scenario planning and a balance sheet strong enough to support growth. In this conversation, Mohamed Bellal discusses joint ventures, pharmaceutical investment, Vision 2030 localisation, artificial intelligence and the financial foundations behind sustainable enterprise value.
1 . What makes a strategic investment financially attractive beyond its expected returns?
Beyond returns, a strategic investment must demonstrate resilience across economic cycles. I look at capital efficiency, strategic optionality – whether an asset can open new markets or capabilities – and the quality of cash flows, not just their size.
An investment that secures long-term contracts with creditworthy counterparties, such as Aramco-backed revenues, is fundamentally different from one that depends on spot-market pricing.
2 .What is the biggest challenge when structuring a successful joint venture?
Governance alignment before capital deployment. Most joint ventures fail not because of the financials, but because of undefined decision rights, unclear profit-distribution mechanisms and misaligned strategic intent between the partners.
In one of the joint ventures I helped build, I spent significant time designing the board framework and shareholder agreements before a single riyal moved, because the foundation determines everything that follows.
3. What financial challenges are unique to the pharmaceutical industry?
I would highlight three. First, regulatory unpredictability: SFDA approval timelines can delay an entire investment thesis by years. Second, long product-development cycles can place significant pressure on working capital. Third, pricing pressure from government procurement bodies such as NUPCO can compress margins.
The CFO in pharmaceutical manufacturing must therefore model multiple regulatory scenarios, not only the base case.
4. How can finance leaders support the localisation ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030?
By structuring investments that make localisation financially viable, not merely strategically desirable. I did this at one of the groups through SIDF funding applications and sovereign funding mechanisms that reduced the cost of capital for local manufacturing.
Finance leaders must understand and speak the language of Vision 2030 if they want to unlock those instruments effectively.
5. Where can artificial intelligence create the most meaningful impact in strategic finance?
Scenario modelling and real-time decision support. At one of the groups, I integrated AI agents into machinery calibration, reducing waste and improving margins.
In finance, AI’s highest value lies in compressing the time between data and decision. It can help replace monthly reporting cycles with real-time dashboards that give the board live visibility into risk and performance.
6. What is one strategic finance lesson you have learned from managing large-scale investments?
Protect the balance sheet before you grow the P&L. At one of the groups, I inherited a distressed balance sheet with a 3.2-times debt-to-equity ratio and SAR 45 million in penalties. Before pursuing growth, I stabilised the foundation.
The SAR 1.3 billion valuation we achieved came because we built on solid ground. Growth on a weak balance sheet is acceleration towards failure.
About the interviewee
Mohamed Bellal is Group Chief Financial Officer at Pharma Pharmaceutical Industries and Shilpa High Potency. His perspective spans strategic investment, joint-venture governance, pharmaceutical finance, localisation, artificial intelligence and large-scale value creation.
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