Saudi Arabia, China Strengthen Strategic Partnership in Digital Economy

The agreement was signed by Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawaha and the Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Wang Zhigang
The agreement was signed by Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawaha and the Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Wang Zhigang
TT

Saudi Arabia, China Strengthen Strategic Partnership in Digital Economy

The agreement was signed by Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawaha and the Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Wang Zhigang
The agreement was signed by Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawaha and the Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Wang Zhigang

Saudi Arabia has signed a strategic partnership with China for cooperation on the digital economy.

The agreement was signed by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawaha and the Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Wang Zhigang, as part of the current official visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Kingdom.

The partnership develops a framework for cooperation between the two countries, covering the fields of digital economy, communications and information technology, and promoting research and innovation on emerging technologies, in addition to improving aspects of communications infrastructure, and enabling the growth of digital entrepreneurship through emerging business models such as financial technology and e-commerce.

It also covers cooperation on artificial intelligence, advanced computing and quantum information technology, in addition to robots and smart equipment, and work to develop their technologies and applications for industrial and commercial purposes.

Moreover, this partnership memorandum aims at enhancing the two friendly countries' cooperation in the fields of the modern generation of mobile communications technology and emerging technologies.

Within the framework of this partnership, the two sides will also cooperate in the field of digital technology applications and radio frequency spectrum management, in addition to their cooperation in developing and building local capabilities in communication and data centers, developing digital platforms and cloud computing services, and expanding submarine cable projects.

Saudi Arabia and China will implement the terms of their partnership by exchanging information and expertise, activating visits between experts and specialists from both sides, and organizing conferences, seminars and working sessions.



Salesforce Gains as Software Firm Bets on AI Tools to Power Growth

The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, US October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, US October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
TT

Salesforce Gains as Software Firm Bets on AI Tools to Power Growth

The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, US October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, US October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Shares of Salesforce gained more than 5% on Thursday as investors cheered the customer relationship management software maker's upbeat quarterly results and its artificial intelligence push to drive growth.

The company has been heavily investing to integrate its AI technologies into existing products, such as its messaging platform Slack, to enhance their capabilities and attract more customers.

"We continue to see Salesforce as an under-appreciated AI winner as its differentiated data and early success in creating/deploying GenAI agents," Reuters quoted Goldman Sachs analyst Kash Rangan as saying.

Wall Street was concerned that tempered cloud spending would affect Salesforce in a tough economy, but the software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm reported better-than-expected revenue, profit and margins in the second quarter.

Salesforce also raised its profit forecast for the year ending January 2025, as margins continue to expand, thanks to its restructuring efforts last year.

The stock is trading at 24.49 times that of Wall Street's profit expectations, compared with 52.11 for SaaS peer ServiceNow and cloud contact center firm Five9's 13.30.

Salesforce is set to add $14 billion to its market capitalization if premarket gains hold. The company's valuation stood at $248 billion as of Wednesday's close.

"We think these results alone are not good enough to drive a sustainable rally from here. For that, we need more catalysts, which could come with the new AI solutions," which are set to be showcased at its event Dreamforce and launched in October, Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow said.

Some analysts believe that sustained growth in the coming quarters can come through customer support platform Agentforce, which is not yet commercially available.