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CEO of Cisco Saudi Arabia: Our Investments in the Kingdom Continue to Support Digital Transformation

The logo of US networks giant Cisco Systems is seen in front of their headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France August 6, 2022. (Reuters)
The logo of US networks giant Cisco Systems is seen in front of their headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France August 6, 2022. (Reuters)
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CEO of Cisco Saudi Arabia: Our Investments in the Kingdom Continue to Support Digital Transformation

The logo of US networks giant Cisco Systems is seen in front of their headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France August 6, 2022. (Reuters)
The logo of US networks giant Cisco Systems is seen in front of their headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France August 6, 2022. (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia has demonstrated a strong commitment to IT infrastructure amid significant advancements in the Kingdom’s tech sector on global indices. This has positively impacted Cisco, a global leader in security and networking solutions, which has reported consistent performance in line with the opportunities available in the country and reaffirmed its decision to continue investing in Saudi Arabia to support its digital transformation initiatives.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Salman Faqeeh, CEO of Cisco Saudi Arabia, said the Kingdom showcased the strength and efficiency of its infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic, positively influencing Cisco’s operations over the past few years.

Cisco, a technology company listed on the US stock market and headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, specializes in developing, manufacturing, and selling networking devices, software, and communication equipment.

Faqeeh stated that Cisco is committed to playing a key role in supporting Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation through strategic investments. In 2023, the company opened a regional office in Riyadh to strengthen its operations across the Middle East and North Africa and deepen its presence in the Kingdom. Senior executives also held high-level meetings with government and private sector leaders to solidify partnerships in the local market.

Faqeeh stressed that the company has consistently invested in programs to accelerate digital transformation, supporting the Kingdom’s efforts in key sectors and fostering an innovation ecosystem. He added that since the launch of Saudi Arabia’s Digital Transformation Program in 2016, part of Vision 2030 aimed at enhancing digital skills and promoting innovation, Cisco has implemented more than 20 projects in critical areas such as healthcare, education, and smart cities.

Faqeeh praised the Kingdom’s achievements in digital transformation, citing its significant progress on global indices. Saudi Arabia ranked second among G20 countries in the 2024 ICT Development Index and led in cybersecurity readiness.

Boosting cybersecurity is a top priority for Saudi Arabia, particularly given the rising number of cyberattacks globally, he added. In this context, he pointed to Cisco’s efforts to provide solutions that protect data and digital infrastructure, citing a 2023 Cisco study, which revealed that 99% of surveyed organizations in the Kingdom increased their cybersecurity budgets, although 67% reported experiencing security incidents in the past year.

He also addressed challenges in artificial intelligence (AI), highlighting a recent Cisco study that found 93% of Saudi companies have AI strategies, but only 7% are fully prepared with the necessary infrastructure to implement these technologies.

Moreover, Faqeeh underscored the impact of Cisco’s Networking Academy program in Saudi Arabia, which has trained over 336,000 individuals, including more than 35% female participants—one of the highest percentages globally.

Regarding academic collaborations, he emphasized Cisco’s ongoing partnership with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), aimed at improving the educational environment and empowering academic staff and students with cutting-edge solutions.

Cisco is also committed to environmental sustainability, aiming for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Faqeeh noted the company’s focus on delivering energy-efficient technology solutions and contributing to the Kingdom’s goals for carbon neutrality.

The company will participate as a strategic sponsor in the Black Hat cybersecurity conference, set to take place in Riyadh from November 26–28. According to Faqeeh, the company aims to use this platform to strengthen collaboration with clients and partners in the Kingdom, offering innovative security solutions that protect data and facilitate the safe adoption of AI technologies.

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Business

As 5% Treasury Yields Lose Shock Value, Investors Start Worrying about 6%

US Department of the Treasury (Reuters)
US Department of the Treasury (Reuters)
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As 5% Treasury Yields Lose Shock Value, Investors Start Worrying about 6%

US Department of the Treasury (Reuters)
US Department of the Treasury (Reuters)

For years, 5% on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield was viewed as the point at which global financial markets would start hitting turbulence. That threshold is beginning to look less like a ceiling and more like a waypoint.

This month's breach of 5% - something that has happened only briefly in recent decades - has forced investors to contemplate an unsettling question: What if 6% is the new number that should be keeping them awake at night? Reuters reported.

The latest move above 5% has not lasted long enough yet to properly test that theory. But it has always been a psychological marker rather than an automatic tripwire, according to BlueBay Asset Management's head of market strategy, Mike Bell.

"People think of it as if there's a magic number for Treasury yields at which it becomes a problem, (but) it's a relative number, not an absolute number," Bell explained.

What matters is how Treasury yields compare with other key investment metrics, particularly the earnings yield on stocks. Bell says that relationship ‌is now approaching ‌an inflection point, potentially setting the stage for an equity selloff.

History offers some guidance. MSCI's main world ‌stocks ⁠index halved in value ⁠the last time the 10-year Treasury yield broke 5%, which was just before the global financial crash. It suffered a similar slump less than a decade earlier when a near 6.8% spike helped pop the dotcom bubble.

JP Morgan's analysts say one of the reasons why the pain-point might now be above 5% again is a "key structural shift" in the global economy, with AI, healthcare and services playing a bigger role. Many of those firms are spending and expanding, regardless of the level of borrowing costs.

That means "the traditional interest-rate channel looks materially less binding" and the "breaking threshold" of stock markets may be "meaningfully higher, potentially in the 5.5%-6.0% range", JP Morgan said, referencing the views of some of the major investors at one of its most recent conferences.

PROFOUND REPRICING

In ⁠the $29-trillion Treasury market, which anchors pricing for virtually all financial assets, a shift from 5% to 6% ‌would represent a profound adjustment in the global cost of capital.

A 6% Treasury yield ‌would imply either significantly higher inflation expectations, growing concerns about US fiscal sustainability, a conviction that interest rates will remain elevated for years - or a mix of ‌all three.

Federal Reserve policymaker Austan Goolsbee said this week that he didn't know whether markets would react differently to a lengthier period of ‌5% yields than they had in the past.

Paul Jackson, Invesco global head of asset allocation research, said investors focus on Treasury yields for a simple reason: Treasuries represent the world's risk-free benchmark and at above 5%, investors can lock in the highest returns on US bonds since 2007.

Jackson's own calculations show world stocks start to drop when the 10-year yield has traded at an average of 4.72% for 12 months and then rises.

That tipping point remains some way off ‌for now - the 12-month average is currently around 4.34% - but Jackson said he was already dialling back on stocks and switching some money into government bonds to cash in on the juicy yields.

"If Treasury ⁠yields keep rising then there ⁠is a risk that the stock market is lower in 12 months' time," he said.

EMERGING QUESTIONS

Emerging markets, which have enjoyed something of a hot streak in recent years, are often among the first casualties when US yields surge.

Higher Treasury returns tend to strengthen the dollar and make dollar-denominated assets more attractive. That sucks capital away from EM economies and can tip hard-up countries into crisis if the cost of servicing their dollar-denominated debt spirals.

Data on investment flows shows last week saw the biggest exodus from EM bond funds in months, with billions also withdrawn from equity funds. Issuance of emerging-market sovereign debt has also been notably lighter than usual this month.

"It's not an optimal picture for EM," said Alison Shimada, Head of Total Emerging Markets Equity, Allspring Global Investments, although she stressed that for now nothing was going "horribly wrong" and therefore remained "constructive".

Perhaps the biggest risk is psychological.

Once investors start asking whether 6% is attainable, the debate shifts beyond a temporary spike in yields. It becomes a broader reckoning with the possibility that the era of abundant liquidity and ultra-cheap money has ended, forcing global asset prices to adapt to a permanently higher cost of capital.

Premier Miton CIO Neil Birrell said while stock markets were showing no sign of collapsing right now, that might be because investors weren't yet plugging in 5%-plus yields into their longer-term profit forecasting models.

"The markets look fine until everyone re-runs their valuation models," Birrell said. "Ultimately, the numbers are the numbers and they've got to come through."

Business

East Pipes Signs $12.27 Million Contract with Aramco

One of the manufacturing facilities of Eastern Pipes Company in Saudi Arabia. (Company photo)
One of the manufacturing facilities of Eastern Pipes Company in Saudi Arabia. (Company photo)
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East Pipes Signs $12.27 Million Contract with Aramco

One of the manufacturing facilities of Eastern Pipes Company in Saudi Arabia. (Company photo)
One of the manufacturing facilities of Eastern Pipes Company in Saudi Arabia. (Company photo)

Saudi Arabia's East Pipes Integrated Company for Industry has signed a new five-month contract with Saudi Aramco to manufacture and supply steel pipes, with the total value exceeding 46 million riyals ($12.27 million), including value-added tax, the company said on Thursday.

The contract was formally signed on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, after the contract award procedures were completed on the same day.

The company said the contract is expected to have a positive financial impact, which will be reflected in its financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026-2027.

The company said there were no related parties involved in the transaction and that the contract was concluded under customary commercial terms and conditions, in line with transparency and corporate governance requirements.

Business

Saudi Sukuk, Bonds Gain New Route to Liquidity

An investor walks past the Tadawul logo at the Saudi stock exchange. (Reuters)
An investor walks past the Tadawul logo at the Saudi stock exchange. (Reuters)
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Saudi Sukuk, Bonds Gain New Route to Liquidity

An investor walks past the Tadawul logo at the Saudi stock exchange. (Reuters)
An investor walks past the Tadawul logo at the Saudi stock exchange. (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia is bringing trade execution, clearing and settlement into a connected electronic workflow for its riyal-denominated sukuk and bond market, a step aimed at making secondary trading more efficient.

The change could make existing liquidity easier to find, improve price discovery and cut manual processing. It follows an approach seen in international markets, where electronic trading has developed alongside integrated local post-trade systems.

Tradeweb’s alternative trading system, previously available to international investors in Saudi Arabia, now also offers an electronic route for domestic investors and dealers.

The US-based company said GIB Capital and Saudi Awwal Bank executed the first domestic trade on the system.

Trade details were sent to the Securities Clearing Center Company, known as Muqassa, for post-trade processing and then to the Securities Depository Center Company, known as Edaa, for settlement.

Tradeweb is licensed by Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority to operate the system for sukuk and debt instruments.

Under the new process, a domestic investor can request and compare quotes electronically from eligible dealers. Once a trade is executed, its details go to Muqassa, which sends settlement instructions to Edaa. Participation is limited to professional investors and domestic dealers who meet the relevant registration and account requirements.

Previously, domestic execution and settlement followed separate processes, which could require trade details to be transferred or entered into different systems.

The connected electronic record should reduce repeated data entry and manual intervention, while making trades easier to trace and audit. The trades remain bilateral, and existing local settlement arrangements still apply.

Electronic trading does not create liquidity in itself, Enrico Bruni, Tradeweb’s Managing Director and Co-head of Global Markets, told Asharq Al-Awsat. It does, he said, make existing liquidity easier to find and access.

A standardized, traceable request-for-quote process lets investors compare prices from eligible dealers. Bruni said wider use among clients and dealers could, over time, improve price discovery and deepen the secondary market.

Enrico Bruni, Tradeweb’s Managing Director and Co-head of Global Markets. (Tradeweb)

From international to domestic trading

Tradeweb launched the alternative trading system in Saudi Arabia in October 2025, initially allowing international investors to trade riyal-denominated sukuk and debt instruments electronically. Early trades involved international institutions, including BlackRock, BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs.

The domestic route gives institutions and dealers in Saudi Arabia an electronic trading channel while keeping post-trade processing and settlement within local infrastructure. A transaction can now start with an electronic request for quotes and proceed through local clearing and settlement.

The platform is still at an early stage. Bruni did not provide specific trading-volume figures since its launch, saying activity first focused on access for international investors before trading between domestic participants was added.

A growing need for price discovery

The process arrives as Saudi Arabia’s riyal debt market expands and international participation increases.

Saudi government debt instruments are expected to enter J.P. Morgan’s emerging-market government bond index in stages from January 2027, widening the pool of investors who track the index or invest in its securities.

That broader international investor base, alongside growing domestic participation, could increase demand for efficient access to dealer liquidity and clearer price discovery as the secondary market develops.

Scope for expansion

Bruni said electronic trading could eventually extend beyond government sukuk and riyal-denominated debt instruments to corporate bonds, repurchase agreements and derivatives. Any addition would depend on client demand, available liquidity and regulatory approval.

Tradeweb said the current infrastructure could support other products and trading methods while preserving Saudi market account structures, settlement arrangements and trading practices.

Over the next two to three years, Bruni said, success would be measured less by a particular trading volume than by regular use among more domestic and international investors, a larger network of liquidity providers and a wider range of traded instruments.

For now, the change is chiefly operational: it connects execution with local clearing and settlement and makes dealer liquidity easier to access.

As participation grows, that could help develop secondary trading in riyal-denominated sukuk and bonds.