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Saudi Industry Minister Highlights Importance of Technology Use to Affect Growth

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef. (SPA)
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Saudi Industry Minister Highlights Importance of Technology Use to Affect Growth

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef stressed that the Kingdom took advantage of various technologies to achieve growth in the industrial and mining sectors, and that technology enables business owners to be productive and effective.
Taking part in a panel discussion titled "Where Manufacturing and Tech Collide", held as part of the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Special Meeting in Riyadh today, Al-Khorayef talked about the transformation witnessed by the manufacturing sector over the past 25 years, which has served many countries, including the Kingdom, and about advanced solutions to lower the carbon footprint, stressing the importance of developing human capital by helping youths interested in technological advancements.
The minister also tackled infrastructure development and preparing regulations and guidelines to secure reliable use of information and data usage, and cybersecurity, and future programs that target 4,000 factories, SPA reported.
He stressed the importance of developing an economic system that takes advantage of technologies like digital twin and 5G for operating and managing the mining sector, especially in remote areas.
Al-Khorayef also spoke about the Saudi industrial base, which has the largest number of active entities and plays a main role in turning ideas into real solutions, making use of technologies that contribute added value to countries.

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Apple Airlifted iPhones Worth a Record $2 Billion from India in March as Trump Tariffs Loomed

A man walks past a poster of an Apple iPhone 16 at a store in Denpasar on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on April 12, 2025. (AFP)
A man walks past a poster of an Apple iPhone 16 at a store in Denpasar on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on April 12, 2025. (AFP)
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Apple Airlifted iPhones Worth a Record $2 Billion from India in March as Trump Tariffs Loomed

A man walks past a poster of an Apple iPhone 16 at a store in Denpasar on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on April 12, 2025. (AFP)
A man walks past a poster of an Apple iPhone 16 at a store in Denpasar on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on April 12, 2025. (AFP)

Apple's main India suppliers Foxconn and Tata shipped nearly $2 billion worth of iPhones to the United States in March, an all-time high, as the US company airlifted devices to bypass President Donald Trump's impending tariffs, customs data shows.

The smartphone maker stepped up production in India and chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tons of iPhones to the United States to ensure sufficient inventory in one of its biggest markets on concern Trump's tariffs would push up costs.

In April, the US administration imposed 26% duties on imports from India, much lower than the more than 100% China was facing at the time. Trump has since paused most duties, except for China for three months.

Foxconn, Apple's main India supplier, exported smartphones worth $1.31 billion in March, its highest ever for a single month and equal to shipments for January and February combined, according to commercially available customs data reviewed by Reuters.

This included Apple iPhone 13, 14, 16 and 16e models, and took Foxconn's total shipments from India to the United States this year to $5.3 billion.

Exports from Tata Electronics, another Apple supplier, stood at $612 million in March, around 63% higher than the previous month, and included iPhone 15 and 16 models.

Apple, Foxconn and Tata did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters is the first to report the shipment details.

Customs data showed all Foxconn shipments to the United States in March were by air from the Chennai Air Cargo terminal, and landed at various locations, including Los Angeles and New York, with Chicago receiving the majority.

Trump later granted exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones and some other electronics imported largely from China, but later indicated that those exemptions will likely be short-lived.

To expedite shipments, Apple lobbied Indian airport authorities to cut the time needed to clear customs at Chennai airport in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, to six hours down from 30 hours.

At least six cargo jets were used in the operation which one source described was a way to "beat the tariffs".