عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

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)
TT
20
TT

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.

Most Viewed

 
Business

Saudi Arabia’s Non-Oil Industrial Sector Grows 5.3% in 2024

Saudi flags along a street in the capital, Riyadh (Reuters) 
Saudi flags along a street in the capital, Riyadh (Reuters) 
TT
20
TT

Saudi Arabia’s Non-Oil Industrial Sector Grows 5.3% in 2024

Saudi flags along a street in the capital, Riyadh (Reuters) 
Saudi flags along a street in the capital, Riyadh (Reuters) 

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil industrial sector recorded a strong 5.3% growth in 2024, underlining the Kingdom’s ongoing progress in diversifying its economy in line with the Vision 2030 agenda. The latest figures from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) reveal that this growth was largely driven by manufacturing, utilities, and infrastructure development.

Despite the robust performance of the non-oil sector, overall industrial production declined by 2.3% compared to 2023. This contraction was mainly due to a 5.2% drop in oil-related activities, following the Kingdom’s adherence to OPEC+ oil production cuts. As a result, mining and quarrying shrunk by 6.8%.

Manufacturing expanded by 4.7% year-on-year, with food production up 6.2% and chemical manufacturing, including refined petroleum products, rising by 2.8%. These gains reflect increasing industrial capacity and rising demand in both domestic and export markets.

Other areas of growth included utilities and public services. Electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning activities grew by 3.5%, while water supply, sewage, and waste management services posted a 1.6% increase.

Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim recently stated that non-oil activities now account for 53% of the Kingdom’s real GDP, compared to significantly lower levels before the launch of Vision 2030. He also noted a 70% increase in private investment in non-oil sectors over the same period.

The Kingdom’s non-oil exports reached SAR 515 billion (approximately $137 billion) in 2024, marking a 13% rise over 2023 and a 113% increase since 2016. Export growth spanned petrochemical and non-petrochemical products, with merchandise exports alone totaling SAR 217 billion.

According to a recent World Bank report, Saudi Arabia’s economy grew by 1.8% in 2024, up from 0.3% in 2023. While oil-sector output fell 3%, the non-oil economy expanded by 3.7%, cushioning the broader economy from energy market volatility. The World Bank forecasts continued growth, projecting a 2.8% increase in 2025 and an average of 4.6% annually through 2026 and 2027.