“This technology that processes complex data faster will enable new discoveries and enhanced recoveries, which are crucial to both ensuring the availability of adequate supply to meet the demand for energy and to cut costs while boosting productivity.”
-Amin H. Nasser, president and CEO of Saudi Aramco, on the addition of Dammam 7, a global top ten-ranked supercomputer, to Aramco’s supercomputer center. Dammam 7 (10) joins Aramco’s other Top500 supercomputers Unizah-II (86), Makman-3 (177), Makman-2 (192) and Unayzah (438). [HPCWire]
“The economy has matured a lot compared to 10, 20 years ago. One of the lessons learned from 2009, is that limited regulation didn’t provide international investors with sufficient comfort, therefore limiting capital flows. Not anymore.”
-Saeed Jaffar, Middle East head for New York-based Alvarez & Marshall, one of a number of large restructuring firms boosting their presence in the Gulf region in anticipation of turnaround work required by economic hardships caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. [Yahoo Finance via Bloomberg]
“PIF made sizable bets, scooping up discounted US and European blue chip equities when the coronavirus hit hard and earning profits when share prices rebounded.”
-According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, Gulf-based sovereign wealth funds bet big on the United States during 2020 with $14.7 billion directly invested in the US versus $6.5 billion in 2019 and $6.2 billion in 2018. [Arabian Business]
“The challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic brought with it investment opportunities in many sectors, especially those related to technology and entrepreneurship. For example, investments in SMEs grew by 300 percent during the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year.”
–Adel Al Ateeq, CEO of Jada Fund of Funds Co., (Jada), which in 2020 invested $266 million in private equity and venture capital funds in order to stimulate the growth of the small and medium enterprises in Saudi Arabia. [Asharq Al-Awsat]
“The holy cities have received prioritized care and attention from each of the Saudi monarchs since the era of the late King Abdulaziz. The holy sites, may Allah protect them, are the most sanctified symbols of our religion and historical history.”
-Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, chairman of the board of directors at Kidana, a new $270 million company launched to develop Saudi Arabia’s holy sites. Kidana will be headquartered in Mina and is the first closed joint-stock company owned by the Royal Commission for Makkah Al-Mukarramah and the Holy Sites (RCMC). [Arab News]
“In cooperation with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hokair Group and our regional partner in the United Arab Emirates, Al-Tayer Group, we will invest $300 million over five years in operating cinemas across the kingdom…Cinépolis is proud to be contributing to the kingdom’s ‘Vision 2030’ by providing moviegoers with unrivaled experiences as Saudi Arabia increases its culture and entertainment offering.”
-Alejandro Aguilera, Cinépolis Gulf CEO, in comments SPA regarding his company’s plans to invest $300 million into Saudi cinemas. Aguilera added that the project aims to “offer job opportunities to more Saudi nationals.” [MEMO]
“What controls the success of universities under the new system is their ability to build endowment programs that give them self-sufficiency in spending.”
-Amal Al-Fawzan, professor of curriculum and teaching methodology at Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, in Riyadh discussing Saudi Arabia’s new higher-education governance system which grants public universities more financial, administrative and academic independence. The new system covers 29 public universities, but so far only King Saud University, in Riyadh; King Abdulaziz University, in Jeddah, and Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, in Dammam have started working under it. These three universities have a total of about 145,000 students in their various disciplines. [Al-Fanar Media]
“Construction of the Tapline began in 1948 on the orders of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, and today the remains of the pipeline serve as a reminder of the beginning of the Kingdom’s industrial revolution. The Tapline stretched 1,700km from the eastern coastal city of Dammam, connecting the Kingdom’s petroleum infrastructure to the region’s Mediterranean coast and was an integral part of the global trade of petroleum and the oil industry.”
“$1.031bn was plowed into MENA-based startups in 2020, marking a 13 per cent increase from 2019.”
-In 2020 more capital was deployed but in fewer, larger deals. The UAE ranked 1st and accounted for the lion’s share of total funding and the highest number of deals in MENA. Egypt ranked 2nd for both total funding and number of deals, and the fast-growing KSA ranked 3rd for both. [Magnitt]
“According to Global Media Insight, a Dubai-based research company, 26.25 million Saudis use WhatsApp for instant messaging, making up 71 percent of instant messaging users in the Kingdom. As well as private messaging, WhatsApp is also used for professional purposes in workplaces, schools, and universities.”
-Hala Tashkandi reports on concerns regarding Facebook-owned WhatsApp’s upcoming policy change that will collect more user data. [Arab News]
