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Snapchat Strategy Backs Saudi Arabia’s Digital Economy, Tech Transformation

Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih during the inauguration of the company’s office (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih during the inauguration of the company’s office (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Snapchat Strategy Backs Saudi Arabia’s Digital Economy, Tech Transformation

Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih during the inauguration of the company’s office (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih during the inauguration of the company’s office (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Snapchat has reaffirmed its commitment to Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation, unveiling a strategy that aligns closely with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals.

According to Abdullah Al-Hammadi, Snapchat’s General Manager in Saudi Arabia, the company sees not challenges but opportunities in the local market, aiming to be a central partner in national development.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Hammadi explained that Snapchat’s strategy in the Kingdom rests on three key pillars: developing human capital, contributing to GDP by enabling creators to earn sustainable income, and strengthening ties with customers and partners through a local presence. The opening of Snapchat’s first Saudi office in the JAX District in Diriyah marked a major step in that direction.

“Our strategy begins with investing in people,” said Al-Hammadi, highlighting programs such as the 12-month Graduate Development Program, digital marketing workshops for Saudi businesses, and the Snap School initiative designed to support local content creators.

The second pillar, he noted, is driving economic impact. This includes empowering content creators to monetize their work and helping local advertisers expand their reach in the digital economy. The third pillar focuses on proximity: the new Saudi office hosts the region’s first “Snap Council,” a forum for creators to collaborate and innovate.

Snapchat formally inaugurated its Riyadh office in November 2024, in an event attended by co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel, along with Saudi Ministers Abdullah Al-Swaha (Communications and IT) and Khalid Al-Falih (Investment).

25 Million Active Users
The Kingdom remains one of Snapchat’s most dynamic markets, with over 25 million monthly active users who open the app more than 50 times a day. Around 90 percent of users fall between the ages of 13 and 34.

Company data shows that 54.5 percent of users are male and 45.5 percent female, while 60 percent of the most engaged users are over 25 years old. Meanwhile, 71 percent of Saudi parents actively use the platform.

“Saudis express themselves on Snapchat at a rate more than 2.2 times higher than on other platforms,” said Al-Hammadi. Over 85 percent of users interact daily with augmented reality (AR) lenses, which have become a defining feature of the platform.

National Day as a Digital Economy Driver
Al-Hammadi pointed to Saudi National Day as an example of Snapchat’s growing economic role. Traditionally a cultural celebration, the holiday has evolved into a major commercial season aligned with Vision 2030’s emphasis on the digital economy. In 2024, 94 percent of Saudi Snapchat users participated in National Day activities through the app.

September has also become a key shopping period: 85 percent of Saudis prepare shopping lists in advance, 72 percent plan bulk purchases, and 76 percent expect brand discounts. “National Day has become the second-biggest shopping season after Ramadan,” Al-Hammadi said. “On Snapchat, advertisers and shoppers come together in a shared moment of economic vitality through innovative campaigns.”

AI-Powered Experiences Ahead
Looking to the 2025 National Day, Snapchat anticipates a new wave of innovation driven by AI-enhanced AR. Features such as the Arabic Sign Language lens launched at the Riyadh International Book Fair in 2023, interactive book experiences, and child-focused filters demonstrate how AI can transform AR into more personal, inclusive, and immersive experiences.

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Business

Survey: Swiss Companies Plan Investment Abroad to Offset US Tariffs

FILE PHOTO: Reinsurer Swiss Re's headquarters are seen on the banks of Lake Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd WIegmann/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Reinsurer Swiss Re's headquarters are seen on the banks of Lake Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd WIegmann/File Photo
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Survey: Swiss Companies Plan Investment Abroad to Offset US Tariffs

FILE PHOTO: Reinsurer Swiss Re's headquarters are seen on the banks of Lake Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd WIegmann/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Reinsurer Swiss Re's headquarters are seen on the banks of Lake Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd WIegmann/File Photo

Swiss companies plan to relocate some of their operations and production abroad to deal with the impact of US tariffs, according to a study by business association economiesuisse.

It surveyed more than 400 companies before and after Switzerland last month agreed a deal to reduce US tariffs from 39% to 15%, with a quarter of the firms already having identified concrete steps they were taking, Reuters reported.

Nearly a third of those firms have decided to increase investments outside Switzerland and shift production and operations abroad, the survey said.

Some 16% of companies said they were going to relocate operations to countries outside the European Union or the United States, in addition to 10% going to the US, and another 5% looking at the European Union.

Other options included looking more at other markets, raising prices and even halting exports to the US.

Rudolf Minsch, economiesuisse's chief economist, said the relocation and investment was not damaging for Switzerland, which remained an attractive business location, though he cautioned high-skilled jobs and R&D should be kept.

As part of its agreement, Bern has also pledged $200 billion in investments from its companies in the US, raising concerns about the potential long-term economic impact.

UBS has said if the pharmaceuticals industry - Switzerland's biggest export sector - relocates all US-bound production to that country - cumulative Swiss economic growth over five years would be reduced from a forecast 10% to 7.7%.

Minsch said Switzerland was too small to absorb the $200 billion, and had a long tradition of investing abroad.

Those investments also helped secure jobs at home, he said.

Business

UN's FAO: World Food Prices Fall for 3rd Month in November

FILE PHOTO: Prices of food are displayed at the Borough Market in London, Britain May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Prices of food are displayed at the Borough Market in London, Britain May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo
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UN's FAO: World Food Prices Fall for 3rd Month in November

FILE PHOTO: Prices of food are displayed at the Borough Market in London, Britain May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Prices of food are displayed at the Borough Market in London, Britain May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo

World food commodity prices fell for a third consecutive month in November, with all major staple foods except cereals showing a decline, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 125.1 points in November, down from a revised 126.6 in October and the lowest since January, Reuters reported.

The November average was also 2.1% below the year-earlier level and 21.9% down from a peak in March 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the FAO said.

The agency's sugar price reference fell 5.9% from October to its lowest since December 2020, pressured by ample global supply expectations, while the dairy price index dropped 3.1% in a fifth consecutive monthly decline, reflecting increased milk production and export supplies.

Vegetable oil prices fell 2.6% to a five-month low, as declines for most products including palm oil outweighed strength in soy oil.

Meat prices declined 0.8%, with pork and poultry leading the decrease, while beef quotations stabilized as the removal of US tariffs on beef imports tempered recent strength, the FAO said.

In contrast, the FAO's cereal price benchmark rose 1.8% month-on-month. Wheat prices increased due to potential demand from China and geopolitical tensions in the Black Sea region, while maize prices were supported by demand for Brazilian exports and reports of weather disruption to field work in South America.

In a separate cereal supply and demand report, the FAO raised its global cereal production forecast for 2025 to a record 3.003 billion metric tons, compared with 2.990 billion tons projected last month, mainly due to increased wheat output estimates.

Forecast world cereal stocks at the end of the 2025/26 season were also revised up to a record 925.5 million tons, reflecting expectations of expanded wheat stocks in China and India as well as higher coarse grain stocks in exporting countries, the FAO said.

Business

World Bank Forecasts 4.3% Growth for Saudi Economy, Supported by Non-Oil Activities

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
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World Bank Forecasts 4.3% Growth for Saudi Economy, Supported by Non-Oil Activities

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat

The World Bank affirmed on Thursday that Saudi Arabia's economy has gained significant momentum for 2026-2027, driven by robust non-oil sector expansion under Vision 2030.

In a report titled “The Gulf’s Digital Transformation: A Powerful Engine for Economic Diversification,” the World Bank said growth is expected to persist in the Kingdom with non-oil activities expanding by 4% on average.

The report lifted its forecast for Saudi Arabia’s real GDP growth to 3.8% in 2025 compared to a 3.2% last October.

The forecast represents a major upward revision affirming the resilience of the Saudi economy and its ability to absorb external volatility. It also indicates growing confidence in the effectiveness of ongoing structural reforms within Vision 2030.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia approved its state budget for 2026, projecting real GDP growth of 4.6% in 2026.

The report showed that in the Kingdom, economic momentum is strengthening across oil and non-oil sectors with non-oil activities expanding by 4% on average and oil activities expanding by 5.4%, bringing overall real growth to an average of 4.3%.

It said oil activities grew by 1.7% y/y in the first half of 2025, benefiting from the phase-out of OPEC+ voluntary production cuts starting in April 2025.

At the financial level, the fiscal deficit between 2025 and 2027 is projected to remain at an average of 3.8% of GDP.

Meanwhile, the current account balance slightly recovered, settling at 0.5% of GDP in the first quarter of 2025 against -2.6% in the second half of 2024.

The report said real GDP growth remained stable at 3.6% y/y in the first half of 2025, thanks to the stabilization of the oil sector and sustained non-oil growth.

Non-oil activities expanded by 4.8% over the period, in line with the performance of 2024 while non-oil growth was driven by the wholesale, retail trade, restaurants, and hotels sector (+7.5% y/y in the first half of 2025), consolidating the role of hospitality and tourism as engines of economic diversification.

The report also indicated that oil activities grew by 1.7% y/y in the first half of 2025, benefiting from the phase-out of OPEC+ voluntary production cuts starting in April 2025.

These trends are expected to persist in 2026-2027, with non-oil activities expanding by 4% on average and oil activities expanding by 5.4%, bringing overall real growth to an average of 4.3%.

Job Market and Inflation
The report said the labor market mirrors the stabilization of the real economy and is rapidly becoming more inclusive to women.

Overall unemployment decreased by 0.7 point between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, with the female unemployment rate dropping from 11.8% to 8.1% over the same period.

Also, inflation remained low and stable in Saudi Arabia, settling at an average of 2.2% in the first half of 2025.

However, price increases have been concentrated in the housing and utilities sector as rental prices have become a key issue, largely because rental supply has failed to match demographic growth, especially in Riyadh.

While this reflects the government’s efforts to dynamize the Kingdom’s urban centers, the price increases prompted the government to freeze rental prices in Riyadh for the next five years, as anticipated increases in housing supply should help control rental prices.

Finally, the report said Saudi Arabia’s external position stabilized in the second half of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025.

Although net foreign direct investment has remained relatively stable, the World Bank has emphasized that recent changes in foreign ownership regulations in Saudi Arabia, coupled with continued structural reforms, are positive steps to attract greater flows of foreign direct investment (FDI).