Retail Electronic retail payments rise to 70% in Saudi Arabia The Saudi central bank said this week that the share of electronic payments in the retail sector rose to 70 percent in 2023 from 62 percent the year before, as the government tries to boost online banking and the fintech sector. A total 10.8 billion transactions were processed in 2023 compared to 8.7 billion transactions […] April 4, 2024
Cybersecurity PIF entities invest $133m in South Korea’s AhnLab A technology subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) will set up a joint venture with South Korea’s AhnLab to develop and localise multiple cybersecurity technologies in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Information Technology Company (Site) and its subsidiary, Site Ventures, will invest more than SAR500 million ($133 million) in the venture to carry out research and […] April 4, 2024
Tech UAE to build 1,000 MW data centres in Kenya The UAE plans to build data centre projects with a total capacity of up to 1,000 megawatts in Kenya to promote the “digital corridor” concept with the East African nation. The UAE’s investment ministry and Kenya’s ministry of information, communications and digital economy have signed a pact to set up a framework for investment cooperation […] April 1, 2024
Tech Middle East to drive rebound in smartphone market Global smartphone shipments are expected to rebound three percent this year as easing inflation aids a demand recovery in emerging markets and the integration of generative AI attracts buyers to premium devices, a report by Counterpoint Research said on Thursday. Global shipments had declined more than four percent last year, earlier data from the research firm […] March 29, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance DIFC’s law tipped to help digital assets go mainstream The Dubai International Financial Centre has introduced a law to define and regulate digital assets – a move that should herald their integration into more parts of the economy, lawyers have told AGBI. The DIFC legislation came into effect on March 8 and classifies the assets as property. Digitally tracked items such as cryptocurrencies, non-fungible […] March 27, 2024
Tech Abu Dhabi’s E7 signs international security contracts An Abu Dhabi printing and security provider has signed contracts to supply identity cards and driving licences to three countries in Africa and Latin America. E7 Group said in an ADX bourse filing on March 26 that it had signed contracts valued at AED 13 million ($3.5 million) to manufacture and supply the identification cards […] March 26, 2024
Tourism Saudi Arabia plans tourist flights into the stratosphere From 2026, well-heeled tourists in Saudi Arabia will be able to book a day trip that is out of this world: a near-space flight priced at $164,000 per person. Halo Space, a Madrid-based company that is developing a craft for flights into the Earth’s stratosphere, has chosen the kingdom as one of its departure bases […] March 21, 2024
Artificial intelligence Saudi Arabia to create $40bn AI fund Saudi Arabia plans to create a $40 billion fund to invest in artificial intelligence, The New York Times reported on March 19, citing three sources briefed on the plans. Officials of the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund – the Public Investment Fund – have discussed a potential partnership with US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and […] March 20, 2024
Tech Meta faces legal action in Turkey over data sharing Turkey’s competition authority on Monday imposed an interim measure on Meta Platforms meant to hinder data sharing between the Instagram and Threads platforms as it investigates possible abuse of the company’s dominant market position. In December the authority launched an investigation into Facebook parent Meta over a possible violation of competition law by linking its social media […] March 19, 2024
Tech Hong Kong most likely for IPO listing of Dubai’s Telegram Telegram, the Dubai-based messaging app known for its encryption features and large group chats, is most likely to target Hong Kong for its potential listing, experts have said. This preference stems from the challenges its founder, Pavel Durov, might face in Western markets due to his Russian nationality. Durov said in a Financial Times interview […] March 18, 2024
Tech UAE’s G42 to build green data centre in Kenya Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence company G42 has said it will develop a one-gigawatt (GW) data centre in Kenya powered by geothermal energy. The new facility, developed in partnership with Kenya’s EcoCloud, will boost cloud computing and AI services, the Abu Dhabi Media Office reported, citing a company statement. The EcoCloud-G42 mega data centre will have […] March 18, 2024
Analysis Tech Saudi Arabia ‘leads GCC’ in adoption of robotics The rising number of robotics companies in Saudi Arabia has helped the kingdom become a regional leader in the adoption and development of the technology, experts have told AGBI. The number of robotics companies registered in the country surged to 2,344 in the second quarter of 2023, up from 1,537 a year earlier, according to […] March 14, 2024
Analysis Trade Digital economy focus of UAE-Malaysia trade talks The UAE is expected to sign a free trade deal with Malaysia by the end of June as the latter courts more investment to develop its digital economy. Talks on establishing a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) began last year and Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Malaysia’s minister of investment, trade and industry, said the two […] March 13, 2024
Opinion Tech Think local: the best weapon in the fight to topple an e-commerce giant A Mena startup can outwit a global behemoth if it uses its insider knowledge of its customers March 12, 2024
Tech Oman’s growing space sector attracts $52m in investments Oman has attracted investments worth OMR20 million ($52 million) in its growing space sector over the past two years, a senior government official said. The investments have increased after the issuance of the executive space programme last year, Dr. Ali Al Shidhani, under-secretary of communications and IT at the ministry of transport, communications, and information […] March 8, 2024
Video length: 05:25 VIDEO Infrastructure Saudi data centre sector attracts global investment Saudi Arabia has emerged as one of the most attractive destinations for global players looking to build and operate data centre facilities in the region. This was one of the prominent trends evident at Leap, the technology event taking place this week in Riyadh, where numerous tech companies revealed plans to enter the market to […] March 7, 2024
Tech UAE funds back investments in African startups Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company and French national investment bank Bpifrance have co-invested in an Africa-focused venture capital fund. At the same time, Dubai Future District Fund, launched in 2020 by Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has also invested in the Partech Africa II VC fund. The capital investments of the two […] March 7, 2024
Tech Saudi Arabia backs tech startup sector with $888m Saudi Arabia has announced investments worth $888 million to support the local tech startup and venture capital sector. The funds will support industries such as digital payments, e-gaming and artificial intelligence (AI). The announcement was made on the second day of the Leap international technology conference taking place this week in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has […] March 6, 2024
Tech Yahsat 2023 profit rises to $116m on revenue growth Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, known as Yahsat, said net income grew 9 percent to AED424 million ($116 million) in 2023, driven by revenue growth across all operating segments. Revenue grew 6 percent year on year to AED1.7 billion, with all four operating segments exceeding the top end of the previous guidance range of AED1.6-1.7 billion. […] March 6, 2024
Artificial intelligence Aramco launches world’s first industrial AI model Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, has launched a generative artificial intelligence model. The Aramco Metabrain AI, a first for the industrial sector, has 250 billion parameters, or learnable variables, which it adjusts during training to make predictions or generate outputs. It was trained on 7 trillion data points gathered over the company’s 90-year […] March 6, 2024
