عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Saudi Arabia Unveils Investments Exceeding $9 Billion with Launch of LEAP 2023

Eng. Abdullah Alsawaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, delivers a keynote speech at the event. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Eng. Abdullah Alsawaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, delivers a keynote speech at the event. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Saudi Arabia Unveils Investments Exceeding $9 Billion with Launch of LEAP 2023

Eng. Abdullah Alsawaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, delivers a keynote speech at the event. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Eng. Abdullah Alsawaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, delivers a keynote speech at the event. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

With the launch of the LEAP Tech 2023 conference - the largest global gathering for technology and digitization developments – on Monday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia unveiled investments exceeding $9 billion to support future technologies and emerging companies in the Kingdom.

More than 700 experts, scientists and specialized companies from around the world discuss the latest developments in virtual reality, creative economy, edutech, retail, Fourth Industrial Revolution, future energy, smart cities, fintech, and healthtech.

During a keynote speech at the event, Eng. Abdullah Alsawaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, announced investments worth $9 billion to support future technologies, digital entrepreneurship, and tech startups, in order to enhance the Kingdom’s position as the largest digital economy in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The minister underlined that Riyadh’s hosting of the LEAP 2023 conference confirms the great support of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the digital and technological transformation journey, and his keenness to keep pace with the rapid developments in the world, in order to achieve the goals of Vision 2030 in promising sectors and future technologies.

Alsawaha noted that the investments included $400 million from Huawei for cloud infrastructure for its services in the Kingdom, $2.1 billion from Microsoft for a global superscalar cloud, $1.5 billion from Oracle to expand its business by launching new cloud regions in Saudi Arabia, and $1.1 billion for the opening of a Zoom cloud area in the Kingdom in collaboration with Aramco. He also pointed to global and local investments of $4.5 billion in various fields.

The Saudi minister said he hoped that the conference’s outputs would enhance the diversification of the economy and the localization of technology and advanced industries, noting that LEAP has become one of the most important annual global technological events that gather stakeholders, entrepreneurs and venture capital funds to open new horizons in new investment fields, and launch qualitative partnerships.

The first day of the conference witnessed the opening of the first Metaverse Academy in the MENA region by Meta, headquartered in Saudi Arabia, the launch of Hektar by WEO Technology and Camel Lab, a social media app with a variety of content, and the announcement of Beem by MENA Communication and STC, a new app with business features, high-quality voice and video calling, and instant messaging.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Political Turmoil Shakes South Korea’s Economy

Protesters take part in a rally calling for the ouster of South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol in front of the Gwanghwamun Gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul on December 28, 2024. (Yonhap/AFP)
Protesters take part in a rally calling for the ouster of South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol in front of the Gwanghwamun Gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul on December 28, 2024. (Yonhap/AFP)
TT
TT

Political Turmoil Shakes South Korea’s Economy

Protesters take part in a rally calling for the ouster of South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol in front of the Gwanghwamun Gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul on December 28, 2024. (Yonhap/AFP)
Protesters take part in a rally calling for the ouster of South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol in front of the Gwanghwamun Gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul on December 28, 2024. (Yonhap/AFP)

After South Korea's president and his replacement were both deposed over a failed bid to impose martial law, deepening political turmoil is threatening the country's currency and shaking confidence in its economy.

The won, which plunged Friday to its lowest level against the dollar since 2009, has been in near-constant decline since President Yoon Suk Yeol's attempt to scrap civilian rule in early December.

Business and consumer confidence in Asia's fourth-largest economy have also taken their biggest hit since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to figures released by the Bank of Korea.

Lawmakers impeached Yoon in mid-December on charges of insurrection, and on Friday they impeached his successor, acting president and prime minister Han Duck-soo, arguing that he refused demands to complete Yoon's removal from office and bring him to justice.

That thrust Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok into the additional roles of acting president and prime minister.

Choi has pledged to do all he can to end "this period of turmoil" and resolve the political crisis gripping the country.

- Constitutional question -

At the heart of the stalemate is the Constitutional Court, which will decide whether to uphold parliament's decision to impeach Yoon.

It must do so by a two-thirds majority, however. And because three of the court's nine seats are currently vacant, a unanimous vote is required to confirm the suspended president's removal.

Otherwise, Yoon will be automatically returned to office.

Lawmakers on Thursday nominated three judges to fill the vacant seats, but acting president Han refused to approve them, precipitating his own impeachment.

After an acrimonious day in which lawmakers from Yoon's party erupted in protest, the country's newest acting president sought to project calm.

"Although we are facing unexpected challenges once again, we are confident that our robust and resilient economic system will ensure rapid stabilization," Choi said Friday.

The 61-year-old career civil servant has inherited a 2025 budget -- adopted by the opposition alone -- which is 4.1 trillion won ($2.8 billion) less than the government had hoped for.

"There are already signs the crisis is having an impact on the economy," Gareth Leather of Capital Economics wrote in a note to clients, citing the dip in consumer and business confidence.

"The crisis is unfolding against a backdrop of a struggling economy," he added, with GDP growth expected to be just two percent this year, weighed down by a global slowdown in demand for semiconductors.

"Longer term, political polarization and resulting uncertainty could hold back investment in Korea," Leather wrote, citing the example of Thailand, another ultra-polarized country whose economy has stagnated since a coup in 2014.

- Democratic resilience? -

But other economists noted that the South Korean economy has so far weathered the chaos well.

As early as December 4, the day after Yoon declared martial law following a budget tussle with the opposition, the central bank promised to inject sufficient liquidity to stabilize the markets, and the Kospi Index has lost less than four percent since the start of the crisis.

"Like everyone, I was surprised when Yoon took those crazy measures," Park Sang-in, a professor of economics at Seoul National University, told AFP. "But there was a resilience of democracy."

"We come from being an underdeveloped country to one of the world's most dynamic economies in very few years, and Yoon Suk Yeol is a side effect of the growth," he added.

"Korean society was mature enough to counter his crazy actions."