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Lumi CEO: Tourism, Business Recovery Contributed to Saudi Car Rental Sector’s Success

Lumi signed an agreement with Saferoad to provide data-driven technical assistance to streamline its fleet services in Saudi Arabia. (Lumi)
Lumi signed an agreement with Saferoad to provide data-driven technical assistance to streamline its fleet services in Saudi Arabia. (Lumi)
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Lumi CEO: Tourism, Business Recovery Contributed to Saudi Car Rental Sector’s Success

Lumi signed an agreement with Saferoad to provide data-driven technical assistance to streamline its fleet services in Saudi Arabia. (Lumi)
Lumi signed an agreement with Saferoad to provide data-driven technical assistance to streamline its fleet services in Saudi Arabia. (Lumi)

Azfar Shakeel, CEO of Lumi Car Rental, highlighted the company’s efforts to revolutionize mobility for individuals and businesses within and outside Saudi Arabia by leveraging digital innovation in land transportation. He emphasized that Lumi’s strategic vision is focused on driving sustainable, long-term growth in the Kingdom’s rapidly evolving transportation sector.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Shakeel outlined key objectives such as digitizing rental processes to enhance efficiency, streamlining used car sales through digital platforms, utilizing data for informed decision-making, and optimizing fleet usage.

The CEO of Lumi explained that the company’s strategy is designed to ensure continuous revenue, regardless of market conditions.

Lumi’s success is built on maintaining and expanding current operations while seizing new opportunities, particularly through corporate and government partnerships and large-scale projects under Saudi Vision 2030, he stated.

“With this in mind, this year we signed an agreement with IoT solutions provider Saferoad to deliver data-driven technical assistance to streamline our fleet services in Saudi Arabia. This partnership is in line with Lumi’s strategy to lead the digitalization of the Kingdom’s land transportation sector. The newly signed agreement will enable Lumi to drive digital innovation in the land transportation sector by providing the latest services to our customers using enhanced technologies in the car rental sector,” he added.

Shakeel added that Lumi is enhancing its short-term rental business through a multi-channel infrastructure, including mobile apps, a website, a call center, and WhatsApp services, all aimed at improving operational efficiency and profitability.

Lumi, which operates 41 branches in 18 Saudi cities, integrates digital services aligned with global best practices. Shakeel emphasized the importance of collaborating with companies that share similar approaches to offer innovative services. He noted that the growth of Saudi Arabia’s economy and tourism sector, fueled by Vision 2030, positions the car rental industry to play a key role in this dynamic environment.

The CEO of Lumi attributed the car rental market’s future growth to the expansion of Saudi tourism and the government’s initiatives to position the country as a global logistics hub.

He revealed that Lumi’s profits reached SAR 160 million ($42.6 million) in 2023, an increase of SAR 17 million ($4.5 million). He credited the company’s focus on its core sectors—corporate and government rentals, daily rentals, and used car sales—as key to its profitability.

Shakeel also highlighted Lumi’s commitment to keeping pace with technological advancements and ensuring a seamless customer experience.

“Our goal is to be the first choice for customers seeking a smooth, digital experience when renting or purchasing used vehicles,” he said.

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US Treasury Targets Russia's Gazprombank with New Sanctions

FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
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US Treasury Targets Russia's Gazprombank with New Sanctions

FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

The United States imposed new sanctions on Russia's Gazprombank on Thursday, the Treasury Department said, as President Joe Biden steps up actions to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine before he leaves office in January.
The move, which wields the department's most powerful sanctions tool, effectively kicks Gazprombank out of the US banking system, bans its trade with Americans and freezes its US assets, Reuters reported.
Gazprombank is one of Russia's largest banks and is partially owned by Kremlin-owned gas company Gazprom. Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has been urging the US to impose more sanctions on the bank, which receives payments for natural gas from Gazprom's customers in Europe.
The fresh sanctions come days after the Biden administration allowed Kyiv to use US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory. On Tuesday, Ukraine fired the weapons, the longest range missiles Washington has supplied for such attacks on Russia, on the war's 1,000th day.
The Treasury also imposed sanctions on 50 small-to-medium Russian banks to curtail the country's connections to the international financial system and prevent it from abusing it to pay for technology and equipment needed for the war. It warned that foreign financial institutions that maintain correspondent relationships with the targeted banks "entails significant sanctions risk."
"This sweeping action will make it harder for the Kremlin to evade US sanctions and fund and equip its military," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. "We will continue to take decisive steps against any financial channels Russia uses to support its illegal and unprovoked war in Ukraine."
Gazprombank said Washington's latest move would not affect its operations. The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
Along with the sanctions, Treasury also issued two new general licenses authorizing US entities to wind down transactions involving Gazprombank, among other financial institutions, and to take steps to divest from debt or equity issued by Gazprombank.
Gazprombank is a conduit for Russia to purchase military materiel in its war against Ukraine, the Treasury said. The Russian government also uses the bank to pay its soldiers, including for combat bonuses, and to compensate the families of its soldiers killed in the war.
The administration believes the new sanctions improve Ukraine's position on the battlefield and ability to achieve a just peace, a source familiar with the matter said.
COLLATERAL IMPACT
While Gazprombank has been on the administration's radar for years, it has been seen as a last resort because of its focus on energy and the desire to avoid collateral impact on Europe, a Washington-based trade lawyer said.
"I think that the current administration is trying to put as much pressure and add as many sanctions as possible prior to January 20th to make it harder for the next administration to unwind," said the lawyer, Douglas Jacobson.
Officials in Slovakia and Hungary said they were studying the impacts of the new US sanctions.
Trump would have the power to remove the sanctions, which were imposed under an executive order by Biden, if he wants to take a different stance, Jacobson said.
After Russia's invasion in 2022, the Treasury placed debt and equity restrictions on 13 Russian firms, including Gazprombank, Sberbank and the Russian Agricultural Bank.
The US Treasury has also worked to provide Ukraine with funds from windfall proceeds of frozen Russian assets.