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Saudi Digital Government Authority Launches Regulatory Sandbox

Launching ceremony of the Saudi Digital Government Authority regulatory sandbox (SPA)
Launching ceremony of the Saudi Digital Government Authority regulatory sandbox (SPA)
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TT

Saudi Digital Government Authority Launches Regulatory Sandbox

Launching ceremony of the Saudi Digital Government Authority regulatory sandbox (SPA)
Launching ceremony of the Saudi Digital Government Authority regulatory sandbox (SPA)

The Saudi Digital Government Authority (DGA) has launched the regulatory sandbox for government technology companies to enhance digital government services in the Kingdom.

The initiative aims to prepare the necessary regulations to improve the business environment, address the challenges facing companies and institutions in digital government services, and improve the beneficiary’s experience.

The inauguration ceremony took place in Riyadh on Monday, in the presence of DGA Governor Ahmed al-Suwayan and leaders of the digital government transformation in Saudi Arabia.

The ceremony included signing cooperation agreements and partnerships between DGA and several government technical companies to develop the regulatory strategy at several stages.

The first stage concluded a partnership with government companies, and the second phase launched the pilot regulatory sandbox, including studying receiving proposals, and evaluating and testing services.

The final phase will begin within 6 to 12 months with approving regulations and issuing licenses.

Suwayan explained that the initiative aims to find regulatory solutions for digital platforms and services to overcome several challenges such as regulating intellectual property rights, data sharing mechanisms, and lack of harmonization.

He pointed out that DGA’s endeavor to govern the regulatory sandbox in an integrated and systematic manner contributes to raising the efficiency and quality of digital platforms, harmonizing government procedures, and strengthening the partnership between the government and private sector.

Suwayan indicated that DGA aims to reach an attractive environment for investment in digital government services and create opportunities for innovation and creativity.

The authority also wants to empower the private sector as a partner in the development process of the digital government transformation and build distinguished national capabilities capable of achieving digital leadership in line with the objectives of Vision 2030.

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Honda, Nissan Move to Deepen Ties, Sources say, Including Possible Merger

FILE - Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida, left, and Honda President Toshihiro Mibe attend a joint news conference in Tokyo, Friday, March 15, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP, File)
FILE - Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida, left, and Honda President Toshihiro Mibe attend a joint news conference in Tokyo, Friday, March 15, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP, File)
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Honda, Nissan Move to Deepen Ties, Sources say, Including Possible Merger

FILE - Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida, left, and Honda President Toshihiro Mibe attend a joint news conference in Tokyo, Friday, March 15, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP, File)
FILE - Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida, left, and Honda President Toshihiro Mibe attend a joint news conference in Tokyo, Friday, March 15, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP, File)

Honda and Nissan are in talks to deepen ties, two people said on Wednesday, including a possible merger, the clearest sign yet of how Japan's once seemingly unbeatable auto industry is being reshaped by challenges from Tesla and Chinese rivals.
A combined Honda and Nissan would create a $54 billion company with annual output of 7.4 million vehicles, making it the world's third-largest auto group by vehicle sales after Toyota and Volkswagen, Reuters reported.
The two firms already forged a strategic partnership in March to cooperate in electric vehicle development, but Nissan's deepening financial and strategic trouble in recent months has added more urgency for closer cooperation with larger rival Honda.
Nissan announced a $2.6 billion cost savings plan last month that includes cutting 9,000 jobs and 20% of its global production capacity, as slumping sales in China and the United States led to an 85% plunge in second-quarter profit.
"This deal appears to be more about bailing out Nissan, but Honda itself is not resting on its laurels," said Sanshiro Fukao, executive fellow at Itochu Research Institute. "Honda's cash flow is set to deteriorate next year and its EVs haven't been going so well."
Shares of Nissan closed nearly 24% higher in Tokyo trade on Wednesday, while shares of Honda, whose market value of $43 billion is more than four times bigger than that of Nissan, declined 3%. Shares of Mitsubishi Motors, in which Nissan is the top shareholder with a 24% stake, gained nearly 20%.
The automakers have been grappling with challenges from EV makers, particularly in China, where BYD and others have surged ahead.
The talks between Honda and Nissan, first reported by the Nikkei newspaper, could allow the companies to cooperate more on technology and help them create a more formidable domestic rival to Toyota.
The discussions are focused on finding ways to bolster collaboration and include the possibility of setting up a holding company, said the people, who declined to be identified because the information has not been made public.
The companies are also discussing the possibility of a full merger, according to one of the people, as well as looking at ways to cooperate with Mitsubishi.
Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi said no deal had been announced by any of the companies, though Nissan and Mitsubishi noted the three automakers had said previously they were considering opportunities for future collaboration.
French automaker Renault, a major Nissan shareholder, said it had no information and declined to comment.
Renault shares jumped 6.5%.
The three Japanese automakers are expected to hold a joint news conference in Tokyo on Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Taiwan's Foxconn, which manufactures Apple's iPhones and has been seeking to expand its nascent EV contract manufacturing business, approached Nissan about a bid but it was rejected by the Japanese firm, two separate sources familiar with the matter said.
Bloomberg News reported earlier on Wednesday that Foxconn had approached Nissan to take a controlling stake.
Foxconn did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while a Nissan spokesperson declined to comment on Foxconn.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE
Over the past year, an EV price war launched by Tesla and BYD has intensified pressure on any automakers losing money on the next-generation vehicles. That has put pushed companies like Honda and Nissan to seek ways to cut costs and speed vehicle development, and mergers are a major step in that direction.
"In the mid- to long-term, this is good for the Japanese car industry as it creates a second axis against Toyota," said Seiji Sugiura, a senior analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.
"Constructive rivalry with Toyota is a positive for the rather stagnating Japanese car industry when it must compete with Chinese automakers, Tesla and others."
Any merger would face significant US scrutiny and President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to take a hard line on imported vehicles, including threatening 25% tariffs on vehicles shipped from Canada and Mexico. He could seek concessions from Honda and Nissan to approve any deal, auto industry officials said.
Honda and Nissan both produce cars in Mexico for export to the US
Honda and Nissan would also have to work out how to integrate their different corporate cultures if they proceed with a merger, analysts said.
"Honda has a unique, technology-centric culture with strengths in powertrains, so there should be some internal resistance to the merger with Nissan, a competitor with a different culture that is now faltering," said Tang Jin, a senior researcher at Mizuho Bank.