The Covid-19 pandemic has intensified the need for data and evidence-based policymaking supported by technology and innovative solutions, according to Saudi Arabia's economy and planning minister.
Fourth Industrial Revolution technology will result in a more resilient and robust growth path for countries in the future and can help them to manage crises such as the pandemic better, Faisal Alibrahim said in his opening remarks on the second day of the C4IR event in Riyadh.
The event, organised by the kingdom's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and managed by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, discussed the impact of emerging technology on the future of transport and finance, the resilience of healthcare systems, future smart cities, clean energy transitions and initiatives to restore ecosystems.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is expected to generate non-oil revenue worth 1 trillion Saudi riyals ($266.66bn), according to Abdullah Alswaha, the kingdom's Minister of Communications.
The use of advanced technology has already affected sectors such as energy, education and health care in the kingdom, experts and policymakers said during the forum.
Saudi Arabia, which is currently ranked fourth in the world in terms of 5G connectivity, managed to efficiently educate more than six million students when the pandemic fuelled a shift to remote learning, said Mr Alibrahim.
The country now has its work cut out for it “to move up the Global Innovation Index rankings, where we plan to be among the leading pack of our G20 peers”, he said.
In the energy sector, Saudi Arabia has been able to improve efficiency through the use of frontier technology and artificial intelligence, the kingdom's energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said.
"Our vision is to transform the energy sector through the application of data and technology … The Artificial Intelligence Centre is our first supportive centre, where the Internet of Things has contributed to monitoring oil transportation and leaks, as well as monitoring oil installations," he said.
Ahmad Alzahrani, Saudi Arabia's Assistant Minister of Energy, said greater collaboration between the private and the public sector has helped the country achieve its energy efficiency.
“Building the ecosystem with stakeholders, including government, research, technological providers, helped us work together," he said.
Saudi Arabia, one of the world's biggest oil exporters, has taken various steps to achieve energy efficiency. It set up the National Energy Services Company, better known as Tarshid, in 2017 to work on its energy-efficiency goals in partnership with the Ministry of Energy.
The kingdom has also effectively used technology to achieve cost savings within the sector.
Earlier this year, state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco unveiled a new supercomputer called Dammam 7, which is among the world’s top 10 most powerful machines.
With 55.4 petaflops of peak computing power, the device is expected to help Aramco process and image the world’s largest geophysical data sets, significantly helping the company in its exploration activities.
Ahmad Al-Sa’adi, senior vice president at Aramco, said the oil company has been “transforming itself for years”, but digitisation and Fourth Industrial Revolution technology are helping the kingdom achieve its clean energy goals.
"We built over our success over the years. We carefully selected world-renowned benchmarking groups where we benchmark our quadrants,” Mr Al-Sa’adi said.
Aramco has also developed a cloud strategy to run its own applications.
“We have partnered with Google and are now working with [Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority] for cloud strategy. As for skills, we are working with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, to develop our human resources,” he said.
Mohammed Abunayyan, chairman of Acwa Power, said the company is more market driven, with a focus making its service cheaper, more sustainable and reliable for customers. He spoke about the benefits of digitisation and having smart systems for water desalination plants.
“We are proud to be partners with Aramco and the Public Investment Fund. The [Fourth Industrial Revolution] has helped to make the system smarter, more efficient.” he said. “What we have witnessed in the past 24 months is a role model.”
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Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
England squad
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Ben White
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse
Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Raheem Sterling
DUBAI%20BLING%3A%20EPISODE%201
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
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Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
- Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
- Al Towayya in Al Ain
- NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
- Bareen International Hospital
- NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
- NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
- NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
