Saudi Arabian e-mobility solutions provider Electromin said on Tuesday it will set up 100 electric vehicle charging points across the kingdom, boosting the country's green transport credentials.
The company's charging network will be compatible with AC home and office chargers, DC fast chargers and DC ultra-fast chargers, catering to all customer segments, it said in a statement. The network will be available to the public by next month.
“The rollout of EV charging points across the kingdom is our first phase of a significant national strategy that extends to 2030 and beyond,” Tony Mazzone, Electromin’s director of energy and EV infrastructure, said.
Electromin is the first in Saudi Arabia to offer a public charging solution using Saso regulated chargers, with full approval by municipalities, enabling drivers to make the switch to EVs knowing that there is a complete network for them to rely on
Graham Tunks,
commercial director of Electromin
“[It is] in line with the national priorities and commitments of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060 and 30 per cent of vehicles in Riyadh being electric by 2030.”
Saudi Arabia's electric vehicle market is growing as more motorists adopt sustainable modes of transport, driving the kingdom to a top-50 spot for the first time in the latest industry index released by AlixPartners.
The Arab world's biggest economy moved up to 49th place in the New York-based consultancy's Automotive Electrification Index for the fourth quarter of 2021, showing the growing awareness of consumers of the benefits of going electric.
Last month, Lucid Motors, the EV maker backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, signed an agreement with the kingdom's government for the sale of 100,000 cars that will support Riyadh's sustainability drive.
Electromin is wholly owned by Petromin, a Jeddah-based lubricants and automotive services company.
Its EV charging points will be powered by a mobile application. The app will show all charging locations within the selected Petromin Express and Petromin AutoCare outlets.
It will allow customers to locate the nearest public charger, plan their route, check the status of the charger to ensure it is available and allow them to fully control the start and finish of their charging session. The app will also allow payments and bookings.
EV sales in the kingdom are expected to pick up, with studies predicting that nearly 1.3 million units will be sold in the next eight years, said Mr Mazzone adding that Electromin will offer full life cycle support in the EV aftermarket ecosystem.
“Building on our national network of charging stations will mean less pollution, more employment opportunities, and cleaner cars to deliver on the kingdom’s clean energy investments.”
The chargers installed in the first phase will be compatible with all homologated vehicles approved by The Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organisation (Saso) — a government body that co-ordinates standardisation activities using AC type two connectors. The second phase will include additional AC chargers and DC chargers up to 360kW, effectively allowing users to add up to 100-kilometre of range in four minutes.
The rollout of EV charging points across the kingdom is our first phase of a significant national strategy that extends to 2030 and beyond,”
Tony Mazzone,
Electromin’s director of energy and EV infrastructure
“Electromin is the first in Saudi Arabia to offer a public charging solution using Saso regulated chargers, with full approval by municipalities, enabling drivers to make the switch to EVs knowing that there is a complete network for them to rely on,” commercial director of Electromin Graham Tunks said.
Electromin said it will also introduce new features and upgrades to its app to align with the expansion of the network.
Customers can download the app through Google Play or Apple Store and register their payment card details. A dedicated call centre will also help EV users with charging and technical issues.
The company will also provide a mobile EV recovery service to address the on-road issues like instances when an EV battery runs out.
Through the service, they can contact Electromin who will then send out a recovery vehicle that can charge their battery enough to get them to the closest charging point. The recovery service will be initially limited to Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam.
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
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.”
Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
