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LEAP 24 Investments in New Technologies, Cloud Computing, Data Centers Reach Record $11.9Bln

Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Alswaha speaks at the launch of LEAP 2024 in Riyadh. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Alswaha speaks at the launch of LEAP 2024 in Riyadh. (SPA)
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LEAP 24 Investments in New Technologies, Cloud Computing, Data Centers Reach Record $11.9Bln

Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Alswaha speaks at the launch of LEAP 2024 in Riyadh. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Alswaha speaks at the launch of LEAP 2024 in Riyadh. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Alswaha announced on Monday investments worth $11.9 billion to support deep and emerging technologies, innovation, and cloud computing in Saudi Arabia and the world.

He made the announcement at the launch of the LEAP 24 exhibition in Riyadh. The event runs until March 7.

Alswaha highlighted "the unwavering support" that Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, has shown Saudi and global tech sectors to help the digital economy grow and prosper as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, read a statement from the exhibition organizers.

The investments will help consolidate the Kingdom’s position "as the largest market and digital economy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)" for leading technology companies such as Amazon Web Services, IBM, Datavolt and ServiceNow.

The investments will go toward developing Saudi digital skills and supporting tech start-ups.

On the first day of LEAP 24, Amazon Web Services announced a $5.3 billion investment in a new cloud zone in Saudi Arabia. Datavolt also announced a $5 billion investment in Saudi data centers with a capacity of more than 300 megawatts.

IBM plans to invest $250 million in a global software development center in the Kingdom. ServiceNow will invest $500 million to localize its regional services in Saudi Arabia, with training and development programs to upskill and train Saudi talent.

Dell will open a manufacturing and fulfilment center in Saudi Arabia, the first of its kind in the MENAT region.

Aramco announced the establishment of the Saudi Accelerator Innovation Lab (SAIL). Aramco and MCIT co-founded SAIL to strengthen Saudi Arabia's digital capabilities and to launch the "Metbrain" GenAI model; it also announced "Aramco LLM", the world’s first industrial grade GenAI.

Datadog will establish the first cloud application security solutions academy in the Kingdom, and Uipath announced the establishment of its first-in-the-region automation academy to train, upskill, and foster Saudi talent.

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Türkiye Says Trade Deficit Widened 21.7% in April

FILE PHOTO: The Bosphorus strait is pictured through the window of a passenger aircraft over Istanbul, Türkiye February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Bosphorus strait is pictured through the window of a passenger aircraft over Istanbul, Türkiye February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
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Türkiye Says Trade Deficit Widened 21.7% in April

FILE PHOTO: The Bosphorus strait is pictured through the window of a passenger aircraft over Istanbul, Türkiye February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Bosphorus strait is pictured through the window of a passenger aircraft over Istanbul, Türkiye February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

Türkiye's trade deficit widened 21.7% year-on-year to 12$ billion in April, Trade Minister Omer Bolat said on Friday.
Exports stood at $20.9 billion in April, while imports amounted to $33 billion, he told a press conference.
The euro's gains against the US dollar since US President Donald Trump introduced new 10% baseline tariffs on all economies and slapped duties totaling 20% on the European Union had a positive effect on Turkish exports amounting to $440 million, Bolat also said.

Meanwhile, the Turkish manufacturing sector contracted in April as output and new orders continued to ease amid subdued demand, with firms scaling back employment and purchasing activity, a survey showed on Friday.
The Istanbul Chamber of Industry Türkiye Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was unchanged at 47.3 in April. This marked the 13th consecutive month of easing business conditions, with any reading below 50.0 pointing to a contraction in activity.
Although new export orders eased the latest slowdown was the least pronounced so far this year, and the moderation in new business from abroad was also less marked than that seen for total new orders, the survey showed.
Manufacturers continued to scale back employment and purchasing activity, instead reducing inventories, the survey showed.
Manufacturers reported that suppliers quickened their deliveries in April, the survey showed, while the rate of input cost inflation quickened amid currency weakness and higher costs for raw materials.
"An uncertain international economic environment added to the challenges facing Turkish manufacturers in April. As such, further moderations in new orders, output and exports were recorded by the latest PMI survey," said Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
"That said, there were some signs of improvement, raising hopes that the sector could potentially move closer to growth territory in the months ahead."