Increasing lending facilities support growth as car loans account for up to 70 per cent of car sales

August 29, 2010

Kamil Al Jawhari

Automotive sales in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is expected to reach over SAR 69.4 billion in 2010, while there will be a 30 per cent growth in the number of vehicles sold from 676,000 to 880,000 within the next three years, according to a recent BMI report. A factor in the robust market growth is increased availability of lending facilities, with car loans expected to account for up to 70 per cent of car sales, up from 50 per cent.

Taking advantage of the industry’s robust growth forecast, Riyadh Motor Show 2010 – The 28th International Exhibition for Motor Vehicles, and Saudi Autoshop 2010 – The 14th International Exhibition for Auto Repair Equipment, Tools, Parts and Accessories, will showcase the latest models, accessories and specialised automotive services from leading international brands. Riyadh Motor Show and Saudi Autoshop will be concurrently held from December 5 to 9, 2010 (29 Dhu al Hijjah 1431 till 3 Muharram 1432) at the Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Centre, expecting to attract over 85,000 visitors from all over the world.

Kamil Al Jawhari, Project Manager of Riyadh Motor Show at Riyadh Exhibitions Company, said: “The favourable economic conditions have helped consolidate Saudi Arabia’s reputation as a highly attractive automotive market. Moreover, there were several other factors that contributed to the encouraging auto sales growth in 2010, including the imposed restrictions on the age of imported used vehicles and the population growth in the country, which has helped spark the increase in demand for vehicles and auto parts and services. In addition, the local weather condition, which can be harsh on vehicles, has also been a factor in the steady demand for auto maintenance services.”

Industry pundits expect Saudi Arabia to remain generally impervious to the effects of the global downturn as a range of demographic factors and the country’s financial stability help cushion any negative impact on the automotive sector. Factors such as strong population growth of up to 3 per cent annually, high disposable income, low tariffs on imported cars and low fuel cost are boosting the automotive sector’s growth prospects, even as up to 60 per cent of the country’s population comprise the 16 to 64 age bracket, which is within the industry’s market range.

Riyadh Motor Show 2010 will showcase the latest models of passenger cars, station wagons, Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV), pick-up trucks, motorcycles, Special Purpose Vehicles, and 4×4 vehicles. It will also include automobile financing and insurance services.

Saudi Autoshop 2010, which is held concurrently, will feature the latest automobile accessories and repair service equipment; gas station equipment; automobile parts; tires, exhausts and batteries; and automobile care products.

Chedid Re, a reinsurance broker in the Mena region, has established a new subsidiary in Saudi Arabia to capitalise on the kingdom’s fast-growing insurance sector, which has been witnessing significant growth in recent years.

Saudi Arabia has the distinction of being one of the largest insurance markets in the region. With the country’s population projected to reach 45 million by 2020, the demand for insurance products is expected to escalate.

Saudi Arabia – Abha is host to the Abha Summer Training Festival which is taking place within the Abha Shopping Festival.

During the first week of the Abha International Exhibition, a series of seminars and workshops made the festival evenings enlightening and useful. Regional experts and professors have put their talents in the hands of visitors in an interactive atmosphere full of affection and simplicity.

The audience who came from all parts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the GCC countries, and many cities and capitals of the Arab world, have attended open meetings with a group of Arab experts.

In the first evening, Mr. Nasser Aldos attended a seminar on the art of speech and presentation, ranging from the stages of development in human history, sciences and technology.

Dr. Ali Sharab, the General Secretary of Abha Summer Training Festival said that the week-long activities had “A high turnout of visitors from Saudi and other GCC countries in general, thanks to the extensive promotional campaign held prior to the launch. In addition, SMS messages were sent to the public, professors, intellectuals and other experts on a daily basis throughout the week. The SMS campaign was used for the first time to promote a festival in Abha.”

A psychological treatment which takes advantage of the principles of Chinese acupuncture, but without the use of needles was demonstrated during the Festival.

In the final evening of the first week of the festival, a seminar by Professor Mohamed Maghawry involving memory techniques was held.

Professor Mohamed Maghawry said that the mental map is a way to collate information in a form closer to the mind. The mental map can be used to write notes, or summaries of books and different subjects. They are also useful to companies, universities and proved very effective in writing the information in the form of lines.

The session mentioned the life stories of successful individuals some with special needs and disabilities, who continued in their the pursuit of their dreams and achieving their goals in life despite their disabilities.

In addition to these seminars and events, Abha festival included distinct bouquet of events, competitions, exhibitions and promotional programmes.

Company to roll out expansion and awareness initiatives targeting SMBs within the Gulf’s largest IT market

June 15, 2010

NETGEAR, a worldwide provider of technologically advanced, branded networking and storage products, is eyeing a 10 per cent growth in Saudi Arabia this year, as the company anticipates increased activity from its customer base in the Kingdom’s ever-growing small and medium businesses (SMB) sector. In line with this, the company is planning to roll out a nationwide expansion and awareness campaign in KSA, which remains the largest IT market in the Gulf, posing strong potential to hit USD 3.7 billion in 2010 according to latest statistics released by leading market intelligence agency BMI. The study also identified the SMB market as the most potential-laden segment in the Middle East as far as technology adoption is concerned.

Furthermore, the research forecasted that the Saudi Arabian IT market will witness a significant boost in the second half of 2010, from computer hardware tenders delayed from 2009, and will record a higher single-digit growth in IT spending compared to 2009 levels. Networking has been identified by the study as a high potential area of growth, especially demand from local SMBs, which are investing in IT to increase their productivity, efficiency and security. With the recent launch of its latest ‘ProSafe 16-AP Wireless Management System - WMS5316’, a central wireless device that supports up to 16 access points, in the region, NETGEAR plans to highlight its product’s capacity to provide Saudi-based SMBs with a single location to configure and manage an entire wireless network.

“Saudi Arabia’s growing population and youthful demographic, rising PC penetration and per capita IT spend rates and an SMB sector that is increasingly turning to technologically-advanced networking products to enhance their business processes make the Kingdom a very important market for us,” said Ahmad Zeidan, Channel Sales Manager, NETGEAR Middle East. “We have recently launched a new central wireless device, which enables large properties like hospitals, palaces, big houses, Universities, compounds and logistics warehousing facilities to select the right access points for their needs, even mixing models to provide the right coverage, as well as an upgrade path as technology changes in the region, and we are proud to report that the product is witnessing significant demand in Saudi. We have mapped out a definitive strategy, which include partner and customer-focused initiatives covering the entire KSA, as part of our goal to reach our growth objective in this important market this year.”

Following a new channel sales program agreement it has signed with Fujisoft Technology for the UAE last February, NETGEAR has launched its ‘2010 Value Added Program’ with aims to set a new record for price, performance and wireless networking support for SMBs across the region, particularly in Saudi Arabia. A part of the company’s vision to propel its SMB aspirations further, the scheme will focus on value added resellers (VARs) serving the small business market by providing incentives such as sales and technical support, training, customer site visits, special tender prices and product demos. In addition to small and medium businesses, NETGEAR is also eyeing organisations within the oil and gas, government, heath and education sectors including Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and new private universities in Jeddah as potential customers.

“By adding new products into our portfolio and undertaking channel partner initiatives in Saudi, we seek to underline our commitment to addressing the networking requirements of the SMB market in the Kingdom. We are also focusing on growing our most in-demand products in Saudi Arabia such as our security products and NSA wireless controllers, which can provide exceptional benefits for various important local industries,” concluded Zeidan.

Chedid Re, a reinsurance broker in the Mena region, has established a new subsidiary in Saudi Arabia to capitalise on the kingdom’s fast-growing insurance sector, which has been witnessing significant growth in recent years.

Saudi Arabia has the distinction of being one of the largest insurance markets in the region. With the country’s population projected to reach 45 million by 2020, the demand for insurance products is expected to escalate.

Intel presents ‘Best Product Line Manager’ award to Mindware executive

April 22, 2010

Mindware, a leading IT distributor in the Middle East, has driven global IT giant Intel’s business in Saudi Arabia by 20 per cent in 2009, according to latest figures released by the company. In addition, Intel has also named Seema Wadhwa, Components Product Manager, Mindware as its ‘Best Product Line Manager’ from the Middle East during the EMEA Disti Sales Conference held in Barcelona, Spain, along with four other awardees from Europe, Africa, and Russia region. The plaques were handed to the honourees by David Powell, Director - Worldwide Distribution for Intel and by Maan Ahmadieh, Director - Distribution for EMEA.

“My immense gratitude goes to Mindware for allowing me to work in a challenging market such as Saudi Arabia and for giving me the necessary support to achieve the target we have set,” said Seema Wadhwa, Components Product Manager, Mindware. “I would like to dedicate this award to the entire team of Saudi without whom this was impossible to achieve and who was a key to our success.”

Mindware provides value-added distribution (VAD) services to its regional channel partners. With focus on logistics, promptness and reliability, the company’s expanded suite of VAD services include a whole range of networked services such as pre-sales consultancy, marketing, service implementation and after-sales support, which have facilitated market penetration and profitability for its partners and for its company.

ICT expenditure in Saudi to reach USD 90 million from 2010 to 2012

April 19, 2010

Saudi Arabia will account for up to 50 per cent of ICT investments in the GCC from 2010 to 2012, sustaining a healthy compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 8 per cent, according to the recently released “GCC ICT Infrastructure Report” from Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz). Growing consumer adoption of new technologies and services such as broadband internet has helped fuel the increasing ICT spend in Saudi Arabia as an estimated USD 90 billion is expected to be allocated for various infrastructure projects in the telecom sector over the next three years.

GITEX KSA 2010, a premier business-to-business networking event and leading consumer ICT showcase, will gather renowned regional and global distributors, manufacturers and resellers to showcase a comprehensive range of the latest applications, systems and components, complementing the increasing ICT investment initiatives across the country. Scheduled for April 25 to 29 / Jumada al-Awwal 10 to 14  at the Riyadh International Exhibition Centre, GITEX KSA expects over 450 exhibitors from various countries and more than 100,000 local and foreign visitors, ranging from potential buyers, deal sealers, major business owners, IT professionals and governmental decision makers.

Mohammed Al Hussaini, Deputy General Manager, Riyadh Exhibitions Company, organiser of the event, said: “Saudi Arabia maintains its reputation as the leading ICT market in the GCC region, which naturally creates a wealth of business opportunities for local, regional and international suppliers. In this regard, GITEX KSA 2010 has been restructured to cater to the evolving needs of niche markets and allow a wider range of industry segments to benefit from the latest technology solutions. Moreover, trade visitors will have an exclusive opportunity to discuss the latest ICT breakthroughs with renowned industry executives and explore exciting offers from leading suppliers.”

The latest ICT spend growth forecast in Saudi Arabia represents a new upward trend after the country registered a 4 per cent CAGR in ICT expenditure in 2009. Broadband internet, including WiMAX and mobile high-speed packet access technologies, has provided a major boost in consumer technology adoption across the country as broadband registered members reached 1.985 million at the end of the first nine months of 2009, increasing by 49.2 per cent from the same period in 2008.

GITEX KSA 2010 will showcase a wide range of products and services that cater to the full spectrum of Saudi Arabia’s diverse IT segments. The event will run concurrently with Saudi Communications 2010.

Dubai, UAE; April 12, 2010: The third edition of the Gulf Film Festival, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture, will screen 24 films from Saudi Arabia that will provide viewers with a mirrored reflection of life in the Gulf.

Filmmakers from Saudi Arabia are showcasing films covering a vast array of themes. Hamzah Tarzan’s Debts addresses daily issues faced by a Saudi society, while The Shoemaker by Ahd Kamel is the story of Saber, an Iraqi shoemaker, who returns to his family after being wrongfully detained by the occupation forces for two years.

The social issue surrounding child marriage is discussed in Reem S. Al-Bayyat’s Doll. The story of a man on edge of his life is portrayed in Abdulmuhsin Almutairi’s The End of a Man on the Edge of an Abyss: The Last Part, while The Incomplete Chronicles of a Folk Tale discusses the aftermath of crimes committed in the past in a reflective film by Abdulhmohsen Al Dhabaan.

In the most unpredictable of times, Aayesh holds himself together and praises the Lord in a short film by Abdullah El-Eyaf. Self perception is a tricky subject, as explained by Abdullah Al Ahmed in The Meaning or the Way I Look at Myself in the Mirror. On the other hand, Sameer Arif’s Waiting, describes the choices a man is faced wait after awakening from a 6-month coma.

Return by Hussain Alhulwah discusses a man’s next steps after retiring from his job, while Tawfik Al Zaidi’s Exit tells the story of the tensions that arise between two couples and the effect it has on their children. A victim of his past, Salah is stuck in a rut when his finds himself fighting for his love and the future he hopes for in Dark by Bader Al Homoud. Fahad Alestaa’s An Experiment in the Seventh Floor describes the difficulties associated with filming short movies in restrained conditions. The section also includes Al Riyadh by Talal Ayeel.

Budding filmmakers from Saudi Arabia showcase numerous films including Child’s Pain by Waleed Matari which narrates the events surrounding a child dealing with the disillusion of her family, when the only person close to her goes missing. The reaction of foreign passengers to a suitcase owned by an Arab man are recorded to portray the stereotypes that exist in the West in Mohammed Al Tamimi’s The Bag. A tribute to the late poet Nizar Qabbani, Yearning of a Poet, portrays Qabbani in the present and his nostalgia of the past in a short film by Tareq Aldakheel.

Submissions in the ‘Lights’ segment from Saudi Arabia include Thieab Al Dossary’s animated short film, Tayeb Altalif (Harmony by Distress) which explores the attitudes about prejudice and segregation and the symbolism that surrounds the many shades of discrimination. Director Abdulmuhsin Almutairi narrates the story of a woman and the problems she has with her brother as a result of various family matters in AlKenaa (The Mask). A man comes to life after his burial when one of his killers leaves the door open in Jari Tajmeel (Loading) directed by Hanna Saleh Al Fassi.

Anggi Makki’s Raksa Motaghameda (Frozen Dance) is the inspiring story of a young man who trains to win a marathon so that he can cure his ill father. In a touching portrayal of children, Mousa Thunayan’s Al Asfour Al Azrak (Blue Bird) depicts the determined struggle of a handicapped boy who has been separated from his wheelchair. A family man risks his life by jumping from the tallest wall in the world to provide his ill daughter with medication, in Jasim Ali Oqaili’s Ta’er Al Faneek (The Phoenix Bird). La Yujad Siwa Bakaya Dajaj Makli Fi Al Salaja (There is only Leftovers of Fried Chicken in the Fridge) by Nawaf Almhanna gives us an insight into how the course of our lives can change in a few minutes.

The third edition of the Gulf Film Festival is being held until April 14. The festival is supported by Dubai Culture and is held in association with Dubai Studio City. More details on the festival are available online at www.gulffilmfest.com.

Beirut // As the Arab Web industry found its voice at its first gathering last week, there was talk of an entrepreneurial boom in Jordan, Dubai’s digital advertising industry and the emergence of Cairo as an online centre.

But ask a Web business, or more importantly, an online advertiser, where they want to see their digital properties growing, and the answer is almost unanimous: Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom, home to about one in seven Arab internet users and a fifth of Arab GDP, is emerging as a make-or-break market for those looking to build serious businesses on the Arab Web.

“It is hard to talk about being a top level competitor on the Web in our region and not be seriously committed to Saudi Arabia,” said Rashid al Ballaa, who manages National Net Ventures (N2V), the country’s largest internet business.

“It is the place you have to be when you look at the entire market.”

Many Web professionals say Saudi Arabia was central to the success story of Jordan’s Maktoob Web portal, which was sold to Yahoo for US$164 million (Dh602.3m) last year. The valuation came largely thanks to a strategy of buying popular Saudi discussion forums, which significantly boosted the company’s user base and appeal to advertisers.

A similar approach is being taken by D1G, another Jordanian portal, which has acquired a number of Saudi sites. D1G attracts about 3 million unique users each month, more than half of them from the kingdom, said Fouad Jeryes, who is the company’s resident entrepreneur, responsible for developing new businesses.

“The size of the market means it can’t be ignored and it has some very lucrative characteristics for a Web company,” he said. “You’ve got a big population, they are young, they are comfortable with credit cards and they have strong spending power. And they are hungry for great content.”

But while Dubai, Amman and Beirut, whose broader economies are supported by Saudi Arabia’s immense purchasing power, have become viable hubs for the online industry, the Saudi Web sector has remained largely independent of the rest of the region.

“We are here, we are doing great things, but we have never been as good at the PR, at the marketing, at talking about what we are doing,” said Essam al Zamel, the manager of Remal IT, a Web company based in Saudi Arabia.

Jihad Alammar, a Saudi entrepreneur who demonstrated his new Web company last year, said: “I look at things as an engineer. I like to think that my product speaks for itself.”

Qaym, Mr Alammar’s new business, is an online business directory, powered by user-generated reviews and feedback. The site aims to do for the Arab market what sites such as Yelp, which Google tried to acquire last year for more than $500m, have achieved in the US.

“I have no doubt that Saudi Arabia will become the next technology hub for the Arab world,” said Fouad Masoud, a Dubai-based entrepreneur who presented Wasfati, an Arabic-language cooking and recipe site to the conference last week. Sites such as his target mothers, a valuable advertising demographic, and are seen as particularly promising in the kingdom.

“We can’t just be Saudi focused, we need to be Middle East focused,” he said. “But succeeding there is very, very important.”

More than 550,000 computer units expected to be sold, as stock of installed computers reaches 4 million

February 27, 2010

Computer hardware sales in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is expected to reach SAR 7.5 billion in 2010, fuelled by the growing adoption of technology solutions by businesses and households across the country, and the increasing computer penetration, which has reached 24 per cent and is expected to exceed 30 per cent by 2014. Easy accessibility to top-quality IT products and services has helped encourage IT spending in Saudi, which remains the biggest IT market in the GCC with a forecast value of SAR 19.5 billion by 2014 from an estimated SAR 13.875 billion in 2010.

GITEX KSA 2010, a premier business-to-business networking event and leading consumer ICT showcase, has been one of the key marketing platforms that have supported the sustained growth of the ICT sector and helped drive sales performance of ICT companies in the country. To be held from April 25 to 29 / Jumada al-Awwal 10 to 14  at the Riyadh Exhibition Centre, GITEX KSA 2010 serves as the perfect gateway for distributors, manufacturers, resellers and other ICT businesses to boost exposure and gain a foothold in Saudi Arabia’s lucrative ICT market.

PCs, notebook computers and computer accessories are expected to be among the best-selling product categories at GITEX KSA 2010 as analysts estimate that at least 550,000 computer units will be sold in the country this year alone. Current stock of installed computers in Saudi has been estimated to exceed 4 million units.

Shahid Bhatti, Project Manager of GITEX at Riyadh Exhibitions Company, organiser of the event, said: “With Saudi Arabia being the biggest IT market in the Gulf region, ICT expenditure has always been strong in this country. However, with confidence levels in other industries surging this year following a generally conservative outlook in 2009, we expect greater market activity and more business opportunities at GITEX KSA 2010. At least 15,000 square metres of exhibition space has been allotted this year and we are nearly sold out. This certainly underlines the enthusiasm of ICT companies in the Saudi market this year.”

“GITEX KSA 2010 has consistently provided exhibitors a convenient platform to easily reach buyers and decision makers, generate new leads, showcase new products, and appoint new agents and distributors. In addition, the event concurrently provides direct access to the entire Middle East market, giving exhibitors optimum exposure in key target markets in the region,” added Bhatti.

GITEX KSA 2010 will showcase a wide range of products and services that cater to the full spectrum of Saudi Arabia’s diverse IT segments. The event will run concurrently with Saudi Communications 2010.