عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Saudi Arabia to Organize Landmark Event to Encourage Investment in Emerging Technologies

The Kingdom to host the landmark event, "Leap" (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Kingdom to host the landmark event, "Leap" (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Saudi Arabia to Organize Landmark Event to Encourage Investment in Emerging Technologies

The Kingdom to host the landmark event, "Leap" (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Kingdom to host the landmark event, "Leap" (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has announced plans to host LEAP 2021, a landmark technology event to support its Vision 2030’s goals to transform the country into a diversified, knowledge-based economy and boost foreign investment in this vital sector.

The digital economy in the Kingdom tends to contribute to its non-oil GDP by three percent.

Powered by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and organized by Informa Tech, the event will take place from February 1-3 next year at the Kingdom’s largest Riyadh Front Exhibition Center.

LEAP is an initiative to transform the national economy and Saudi Arabia’s position as a visionary tech hub connecting three continents with the global industry.

Backed by the government, major investors, and mega infrastructure projects, LEAP aims to reform business opportunities and empower the funding of ideas and nurturing of tech start-ups – from Saudi Arabia to San Francisco, and everywhere in between.

LEAP arrives as Saudi’s investment in the domestic and international start up ecosystem is forecast to exceed the multi billion dollars mark in coming years, with Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), a government-backed venture capitalist, pledging $750 million to stimulate new businesses in the Kingdom; Saudi Technology Ventures (STV), the Middle East’s largest venture capital fund, launching a $500 million tech fund to back start up founders, young entrepreneurs and Public Investment Fund (PIF) reporting over $50billion to invest in emerging technology.

“LEAP will cause a revelation in the technology sector at the local, regional and global levels,” said Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Swaha.

The Kingdom will attract pioneering contributions to the most prominent technical innovations and the most important sources of investment and financing, he added, noting that it comes in line with the directives issued to mobilize all potentials and accelerate the development of this sector due to its direct impact and contribution to stimulating affiliated sectors and achieving the government’s goals to develop a diversified knowledge-based economy.

“LEAP will be a key factor in growing the IT sector, boosting ICT’s GDP contribution by SAR50 billion over five years, securing foreign investment, assisting our Saudization employment ambitions, empowering a female workforce and attracting international talent.”

It is integral to MCIT’s five-year strategy aimed at accelerating the growth of the Kingdom’s digital economy by 50 percent.

“Saudi Arabia already has flourishing female participation in its tech sector, and we aim to nourish that passion and boost female representation to the highest in the world,” said Women Empowerment Director at MCIT Wadha bin Zarah.

LEAP will look to empower women in the local IT industry further through several measures such as recognizing and rewarding female tech leaders and giving female-led startups access to potential funding, she added.

“By creating an event, which has true equality of opportunity, everyone in attendance will have equal possibilities to benefit from the awards, funding, prize funds, knowledge sharing, and networking available.”

The conference will hold 14 focused exhibition areas demonstrating innovations fields such as artificial intelligence/machine learning, blockchain, robotics, 3D printing, Internet of Things, biotech/health sciences, smart mobility, unmanned systems, quantum computing, materials sciences, space and satellites, data analytics and FinTech.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

US Economy Grew at Solid 3% Rate Last Quarter, Government Says in Final Estimate

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
TT
TT

US Economy Grew at Solid 3% Rate Last Quarter, Government Says in Final Estimate

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

The American economy expanded at a healthy 3% annual pace from April through June, boosted by strong consumer spending and business investment, the government said Thursday, leaving its previous estimate unchanged.
The Commerce Department reported that the nation's gross domestic product — the nation's total output of goods and services — picked up sharply in the second quarter from the tepid 1.6% annual rate in the first three months of the year, The Associated Press reported.
Consumer spending, the primary driver of the economy, grew last quarter at a 2.8% pace, down slightly from the 2.9% rate the government had previously estimated. Business investment was also solid: It increased at a vigorous 8.3% annual pace last quarter, led by a 9.8% rise in investment in equipment.
The final GDP estimate for the April-June quarter included figures showing that inflation continues to ease, to just above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The central bank’s favored inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — rose at a 2.5% annual rate last quarter, down from 3% in the first quarter of the year. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core PCE inflation grew at a 2.8% pace, down from 3.7% from January through March.
The US economy, the world's biggest, displayed remarkable resilience in the face of the 11 interest rate hikes the Fed carried out in 2022 and 2023 to fight the worst bout of inflation in four decades. Since peaking at 9.1% in mid-2022, annual inflation as measured by the consumer price index has tumbled to 2.5%.
Despite the surge in borrowing rates, the economy kept growing and employers kept hiring. Still, the job market has shown signs of weakness in recent months. From June through August, America's employers added an average of just 116,000 jobs a month, the lowest three-month average since mid-2020, when the COVID pandemic had paralyzed the economy. The unemployment rate has ticked up from a half-century low 3.4% last year to 4.2%, still relatively low.
Last week, responding to the steady drop in inflation and growing evidence of a more sluggish job market, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point. The rate cut, the Fed’s first in more than four years, reflected its new focus on shoring up the job market now that inflation has largely been tamed.
Some other barometers of the economy still look healthy. Americans last month increased their spending at retailers, for example, suggesting that consumers are still able and willing to spend more despite the cumulative impact of three years of excess inflation and high borrowing rates. The nation’s industrial production rebounded. The pace of single-family-home construction rose sharply from the pace a year earlier.
And this month, consumer sentiment rose for a third straight month, according to preliminary figures from the University of Michigan. The brighter outlook was driven by “more favorable prices as perceived by consumers” for cars, appliances, furniture and other long-lasting goods.
A category within GDP that measures the economy’s underlying strength rose at a healthy 2.7% annual rate, though that was down from 2.9% in the first quarter. This category includes consumer spending and private investment but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.
Though the Fed now believes inflation is largely defeated, many Americans remain upset with still-high prices for groceries, gas, rent and other necessities. Former President Donald Trump blames the Biden-Harris administration for sparking an inflationary surge. Vice President Kamala Harris, in turn, has charged that Trump’s promise to slap tariffs on all imports would raise prices for consumers even further.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department also issued revisions to previous GDP estimates. From 2018 through 2023, growth was mostly higher — an average annual rate of 2.3%, up from a previously reported 2.1% — largely because of upward revisions to consumer spending. The revisions showed that GDP grew 2.9% last year, up from the 2.5% previously reported.
Thursday’s report was the government’s third and final estimate of GDP growth for the April-June quarter. It will release its initial estimate of July-September GDP growth on Oct. 30.