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Saudi Factories Pass Global SIRI Index for Transformation towards 4th Industrial Revolution

Saudi factories embarked on the implementation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Artificial Intelligence techniques. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi factories embarked on the implementation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Artificial Intelligence techniques. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Factories Pass Global SIRI Index for Transformation towards 4th Industrial Revolution

Saudi factories embarked on the implementation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Artificial Intelligence techniques. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi factories embarked on the implementation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Artificial Intelligence techniques. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Fifty-eight factories under the Saudi Authority for Industrial and Technology Zones (Modon) have passed the global Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) that measures the level of facilities created to back the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Saudi Arabia is moving towards harnessing the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, self-driving cars, the Internet of Things, and smart cities, which reflects the government’s keenness to make the Kingdom a pioneer in this field.

Global developments

In a statement, Modon said the recent success is a culmination of efforts to keep pace with developments in the global industrial sector, and to ensure the transfer of the latest technologies that support the competitiveness of national products in local, regional and international markets.

It also falls within the Kingdom’s endeavor to enhance the national export system, in accordance with the best approved quality standards, and the initiatives of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP).

Qusai Al-Abdul Karim, Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications Department, the official spokesperson for the authority, said Modon was keen on implementing the objectives of the national productivity program, as the main focus of its strategy for digital transformation.

Digital transformation

Al-Abdul Karim noted that the National Productivity Program was able to train 450 leaders from 76 factories on the concepts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in cooperation with two global technical partners - General Electric and McKinsey.

He added that in order to enhance the success of the National Productivity Initiative at the industrial sector level, the factories of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu have joined the program, where 63 digital transformation plans were delivered to more than 15 industrial sectors, enhancing support for the Modon strategy towards empowering the industry and contributing to increasing local content in integration with the public and private sectors in the Kingdom.

Since 2001, Modon has been providing industrial lands with integrated services. The Authority currently supervises 36 cities across the Kingdom that include more than 4,000 productive factories, in addition to private industrial complexes.

Modon is also working on developing and enhancing its investment system through quality programs, to keep pace with the aspirations of its partners in the private sector and to empower women, as well as small and medium enterprises.

Ready-made factories

The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones recently inaugurated 58 ready-made factories in support of small and medium enterprises, pioneers and entrepreneurs and to encourage women’s investments.

The move is part of the NIDLP initiatives to boost the contribution of the non-oil sector to the GDP and enrich the development base of the national economy.

The new factories cover an area of 700 square meters per unit.

Eng. Osama Al-Zamil, Modon CEO, said the project was the product of an effective partnership between the public and private sectors as part of Modon’s strategy to enable industry and contribute to increasing local content.

Small and medium enterprises

The General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monsha’at) announced in its report for the second quarter of 2002, which was issued on Sunday, that the number of SMEs exceeded 892,000 companies, an increase of 25.6 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.

The report disclosed that the investment financing obtained by Saudi startups grew by 244 percent to reach SR2.19 billion (USD 584 million dollars) in the first half of 2022 on an annual basis.

The report stated that the percentage of establishments owned by women amounted to 45 percent of the total owners of start-up companies in the Kingdom, which is double the percentage achieved in 2017.

International conference

Meanwhile, the National Committee for the Saudi Steel Industry announced that the Second Saudi International Iron and Steel Conference would be organized on Sept. 12-14 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, under the auspices of the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Al-Khorayef, and the Minister of Investment, Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih.

About 50 speakers, including leaders from the steel industry, government officials and CEOs of giant projects, will participate in the conference, while more than 750 participants are expected the attend the conference, including international, regional and local media organizations.

The conference will address a number of challenges facing the Saudi iron and steel industry, in addition to global economic developments and their repercussions on the industry in Saudi Arabia and the world.

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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)
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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.