Saudi Arabia aims to attract foreign and local investment worth $20 billion in the fields of AI and data in the next 10 years. AFP
Saudi Arabia aims to attract foreign and local investment worth $20 billion in the fields of AI and data in the next 10 years. AFP
Saudi Arabia aims to attract foreign and local investment worth $20 billion in the fields of AI and data in the next 10 years. AFP
Saudi Arabia aims to attract foreign and local investment worth $20 billion in the fields of AI and data in the next 10 years. AFP

Technology

Saudi Arabia partners with Royal Philips to boost kingdom's AI healthcare capabilities

The organisations will execute a scientific exchange programme and invest in training local staff

Alkesh Sharma
Alkesh Sharma

February 08, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority joined forces with Dutch health technology company Royal Philips to advance its AI healthcare capabilities.

The public-private partnership will create an AI ecosystem to make the kingdom one of the world’s most technologically advanced countries, SDAIA said in a statement on Monday.

The organisations will also execute a scientific exchange programme and invest in local training to empower Saudi Arabia’s data scientists and healthcare professionals with the latest technologies.

“This agreement is part of our efforts to promote advanced technologies in the health field, support expertise exchange and develop national capabilities … [it] will enhance the quality of health services, create new job opportunities and elevate our national economy to become a data and AI-driven economy,” Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi, SDAIA’s president, said.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, aims to attract foreign and local investment worth $20 billion into the fields of AI and data in the next 10 years, according to SDAIA.

AI is expected to contribute up to 12.4 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product – about $135bn – by 2030, according to PwC.

AI-based health technology solutions have great potential to improve patient outcomes and the efficiency of care delivery, said Frans Van Houten, chief executive of Royal Philips. This could in turn free up valuable time for healthcare professionals to focus more on the patients.

“Getting every aspect of an AI-enabled solution right, requires extensive collaboration between clinicians, data scientists and other experts … we are pleased to partner with the SDAIA to enable AI across all healthcare facilities in the kingdom,” he added.

The SDAIA has forged partnerships with various companies such as US tech giants IBM and Dell and China's Alibaba and Huawei to build advanced capabilities in the fields of AI and smart cities.

Its latest collaboration with Royal Philips will focus on five key areas.

These include harnessing AI capabilities in healthcare on a national scale, establishing a dedicated knowledge hub to develop local talent, enabling new business opportunities, introducing solutions that integrate technology into clinical workflows as well as facilitating knowledge exchange and collaborative research.

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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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9.25pm Franz Kafka

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