LONDON: A once-distant future of flying cars, household robots and talking appliances is rapidly approaching and no one is sure what to expect.
Technology companies developing innovative artificial intelligence (AI) applications promise a life made easier as machines take over everyday tasks from making coffee to driving to work. People, they say, will be free to focus on rewarding and creative pursuits while benefiting from more leisure time.
But what about those whose jobs can be managed more efficiently by machines?
Alongside the cab drivers replaced by driverless cars and flying taxis, the list of potential cast-offs includes construction workers, couriers, journalists, paralegals, retail sales people and doctors.
In the UAE, the impending arrival of driverless buses, delivery drones and even robot police officers is an indication of how wide-ranging the advance of AI will be.
Some sectors, including banking — no stranger to technological disruption since automated teller machines (ATMs) replaced traditional clerks 50 years ago — have already started adapting to AI.
Mashreq Bank in the UAE recently announced plans to cut 10 percent of its 4,000-strong workforce within 12 months as it makes way for new AI and robotic technologies.
“AI will provide the competitiveness to the early adopters and in a few years these will become generic features with all banks,” said a spokesperson for Mashreq.
“In the region, the banking sector will see an uplift on service quality and enhanced self-service capabilities with the increased penetration of AI tools.”
Research by McKinsey claimed that 60 percent of all occupations could see 30 percent of their constituent activities automated, and last year the Future of Jobs report published by the World Economic Forum estimated that automation could lead to the net loss of 5 million jobs across 15 developed and emerging economies by 2020.
Speaking to Arab News, Rigas Hadzilacos, global leadership fellow at the World Economic Forum said, “This is a very short timeline and probably a conservative estimate so there is a huge amount of urgency attached to finding ways of exploiting the benefits of AI while mediating the negative impact.”
“In the long run AI will also create new jobs related to the development, maintenance and oversight of artificial intelligent agents — and other completely new jobs we cannot imagine at this stage.
“However in the near future, the rate of job displacement will be much higher than the rate of new jobs created. And this is something that every government needs to prepare for.”
Key to this is bolstering the ability of local workforces to harness the AI and robotic revolution. Santhosh Rao, principal research analyst at Gartner, a technology research and advisory firm with offices in the Middle East, described the skills shortage as a major roadblock for regional governments adopting AI.
“AI engineers are a rare commodity globally because it involves not just programming but advanced mathematics, statistics, electronics and complex algorithm designs,” he said.
Meanwhile, a lot of lower-skilled jobs will become obsolete, Hadzilacos added, pointing to the impact on large numbers of expat workers from the Middle East and Asia employed in Gulf states.
“On the flip side, a new flow of expats needed for the high-skilled labor to support this transformation can be expected,” he said.
David Llorente, CEO of Narrativa, an AI startup with a client base in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Europe, believes AI will change societies across the region and contribute to a shift away from reliance on oil and gas as Gulf countries cultivate knowledge economies.
Countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia are ripe for AI adoption, he said, outlining the potential to reduce dependency on foreign labor.
“Gulf states have two standout qualities: Lots of available cash and a very big deficit in human labor,” Llorente said.
“Increasing automation will enable them to do more with less, helping them to become more productive and competitive.”
He spotlighted Saudi Arabia as the next major growth area for AI in the region.
“Saudis love technology and there’s huge market potential,” Llorente said, adding that AI adoption could help companies in the Kingdom to internationalize and place the country on a par with the region’s biggest AI player — the UAE.
Last month, Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum tweeted about the appointment of Omar Bin Sultan Al-Olama as the country’s first minister of state for artificial intelligence.
The move followed the launch of the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, outlining the country’s aims to enhance performance and productivity by investing in AI.
“We believe that by harnessing the potential of the latest technologies we can offer innovative services to enhance citizen experiences in Dubai,” said Aisha Bin Bishr, director general of the Smart Dubai Office, which is providing AI training to government and private-sector employees.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, recently unveiled plans to invest $500 billion in Neom, a fully automated city where citizens will travel in driverless vehicles, enjoy access to free Internet and live in zero-carbon homes.
The project website describes a digital oasis in which “repetitive and arduous tasks will be fully automated and handled by robots, which may exceed the population, likely making Neom’s GDP per capita the highest in the world.”
Speaking at the Saudi Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh last month, Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist and partner at Founders Fund, described “hybrid solutions” based on people working in synergy with computers.
“AI will make certain sectors more efficient and then it will free people up to do other things,” he said.
Jacob Crandall, professor in computer sciences at Brigham Young University, who spent 10 years in Abu Dhabi, agreed. “In my opinion, technologies simply alter job prospects rather than eliminating them. AI is not likely to eliminate the need for human creativity, but rather opportunities create new needs for human creativity.”
But according to Thiel, there is a tipping point at which people could become redundant in an increasingly automated world.
“It’s mainly a game of complementarity; it becomes a game of substitution only at the end if you have an AI that can do everything better, smarter and cheaper than any human being, and then that will be very scary.”
Rise of the machines: Will a robot take your job?
Rise of the machines: Will a robot take your job?
Oman launches food security projects to ensure supply, sustainability
- Food security is a top priority for Oman, particularly in light of the increasing risks that climate change poses to global supplies
- Production will be distributed locally, regionally, and globally to meet increasing demand
JEDDAH: Oman has launched new food security initiatives, partnering with government entities and the private sector to strengthen supply chain operations and enhance sustainability.
The scheme, announced by the sultanate’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources, reflects the Gulf state’s commitment to long-term food security and economic diversification as part of its broader development goals.
Food security is a top priority for Oman, particularly in light of the increasing risks that climate change poses to global supplies.
The government has launched several initiatives, including the Food Security Strategy 2010-2020, which focuses on three key areas such as managing demand, boosting local production, and ensuring reliable imports, with specific goals to promote sustainable agriculture, rural development, and fisheries.
The country also launched the National Nutrition Strategy 2020-2030, introduced by the Ministry of Health in 2021, aligning with Oman’s Vision 2040. The initiative aims to improve nutrition, eliminate malnutrition, and enhance food security, which aligns with the World Health Organization’s Regional Nutrition Strategy.
Oman also unveiled the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy 2040, which aims to enhance the productivity and sustainability of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. To further these goals, the sultanate also launched the Million Date Palm Plantation Project.
Salem bin Abdullah Al-Ghufaili, the agriculture ministry’s director general of food security, said that these projects include a sugar refining project — the first of its kind in the country, adding that it will be located on an area of 18,000 sq. meters at Sohar Port, with an annual production capacity of approximately 1 million tons, as reported by Oman News Agency.
Al-Ghufaili said that the plant will be equipped with state-of-the-art, European-made production lines, utilizing the latest technological advancements to produce refined sugar of the highest quality from raw sugar.
He also said the production will be distributed locally, regionally, and globally to meet increasing demand, adding that the project’s rapid progress, with 91 percent completion, is bringing it closer to the final stages.
In a statement to ONA, the director general added that Salalah Mills Co. is currently implementing a food industries center project in the Khazaen Economic City, with an estimated cost of 18.5 million Omani rials ($48.08 million) and a production capacity of around 1.4 million units per day in its first phase.
He added that the initiative includes an industrial bakery, production lines for frozen and semi-cooked pastries, equipment and silos for storing raw materials, and refrigerated and dry storage facilities for products.
Al-Ghufaili said that the undertakings include constructing wheat silos at Sohar Port, increasing storage capacity to 160,000 tons to ensure sufficient supplies for the population.
He also highlighted a new partnership between Khazaen Economic City and Zircon Food Industries Co. to build an integrated industrial complex for filtering, sorting, and packaging rice, sugar, and spices, along with large-scale food storage units.
He stressed the ministry’s efforts to secure essential foodstuffs and storage to ensure availability during emergencies while maintaining price stability and shielding the market from fluctuations caused by global economic crises.
The ministry also strategically stockpiles key items such as rice, wheat, and sugar, as well as lentils, powdered milk, cooking oil, and tea.
UAE’s AD Ports Group doubles credit facility to $2.13bn
RIYADH: The UAE’s Abu Dhabi Ports Group has successfully refinanced and more than doubled its revolving credit facility from $1 billion to $2.13 billion. The move extends the facility’s maturity from 2026 to 2028, with an option for further extension until 2030.
This expansion is aimed at optimizing financing costs by improving interest margins and securing long-term liquidity. The facility, which is denominated in both Emirati dirhams and US dollars, has garnered significant interest from a diverse group of local, regional, European, Asian, and international banks. As a result, the facility was oversubscribed by more than 2.5 times.
The bank syndicate backing AD Ports Group has expanded from nine to 18 financial institutions, reflecting growing confidence in the company’s financial health and strategic direction.
“The overwhelming interest in our new RCF and the resulting oversubscription underscore the confidence that the banking community has in AD Ports Group’s robust financial health and strategic direction,” said Martin Aarup, chief financial officer of AD Ports Group.
“This refinancing initiative will optimize our financing costs, strengthen liquidity, and provide enhanced flexibility to support the company’s growth plans in the short and medium term. Additionally, the extended maturity of the facility will enable better financial planning.”
AD Ports Group holds strong investment-grade ratings of “AA-” with a stable outlook from Fitch, and A1 with a stable outlook from Moody’s.
In mid-December, AD Ports Group appointed Egypt’s Hassan Allam Construction, a subsidiary of Hassan Allam Holding, to develop the infrastructure for the Noatum Ports-Safaga Terminal in Egypt.
This terminal, located on the Red Sea coast, will be the first internationally operated port facility in Upper Egypt. Spanning approximately 810,000 sq. meters, the terminal will handle an annual capacity of 450,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of container cargo, 5 million tonnes of dry bulk and general cargo, and 1 million tonnes of liquid bulk.
The Safaga Terminal is a key part of AD Ports Group’s broader strategy to invest in major infrastructure projects that drive economic growth and strengthen its international market position.
In the same month, AD Ports Group also inaugurated the CMA Terminals Khalifa Port, a new $843 million (3.1 billion dirham) container terminal. The launch ceremony was led by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.
The terminal is operated by a joint venture between CMA CGM Group’s subsidiary CMA Terminals, which holds a 70 percent stake, and AD Ports Group, with a 30 percent share.
During the ceremony, a memorandum of understanding was also signed to enhance maritime training in the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The CMA CGM Group will support cadet placements and training through the Abu Dhabi Maritime Academy.
Saudi Arabia’s bond maturities to surge to $168bn, outpacing GCC peers by 2029
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is poised to account for the largest share of bond maturities in the Gulf Cooperation Council region from 2025 to 2029, with a projected total of $168 billion, according to a recent analysis by Kamco Invest.
The Kuwait-based financial firm’s report highlights that most of these maturities will come from bonds and sukuk issued by the Saudi government, which is expected to reach $110.2 billion over the five-year period.
This comes after Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority approved its most significant regulatory overhaul in November, aimed at revamping the sukuk and debt instrument market.
The reforms include simplifying the prospectus requirements for public, private, and exempted offerings, streamlining processes, and reducing regulatory burdens.
Following Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar will also see significant bond maturities, projected at $153.2 billion and $79.5 billion, respectively, over the same period.
In the UAE, a substantial portion of these maturities—around $120 billion—will be from corporate issuances. Meanwhile, Kuwait, with limited government bond issuances, will see the smallest maturities in the region, totaling just $15.1 billion.
Kamco Invest, referencing Bloomberg data, noted that sovereign bond maturities in the GCC will reach $232 billion between 2025 and 2029, while corporate bond maturities are expected to total $235 billion during the same timeframe.
Both sukuk and bond maturities are anticipated to remain high through 2025-2029 before gradually tapering off. The elevated maturities in the coming years are largely attributed to a surge in short-term issuances (with maturities of less than five years) in 2020 and 2021, as governments raised funds to cover budget deficits during the pandemic.
The report also revealed that banks and other financial sectors in the GCC face $169.9 billion in maturities over the next five years, making up approximately 72.3 percent of total corporate maturities. The energy sector follows with $25.3 billion in maturities, while the utilities and materials sectors account for $13.1 billion.
As of mid-December 2024, the aggregate value of bond and sukuk issuances reached $182.7 billion, up from $116.2 billion in 2023. The increase was driven by a 48.5 percent year-on-year rise in corporate issuances, which grew from $71 billion in 2023 to $105.4 billion in 2024. Government issuances also surged to $77.3 billion, marking a 71.1 percent increase compared to the previous year.
Kamco Invest further emphasized that while GCC economies will not be immune to the broader trends in the global fixed-income market, their relatively low levels of government borrowing, strong credit profiles, and substantial sovereign wealth funds should help mitigate potential negative impacts.
“Compared to other emerging markets, the GCC economies are in a more favorable position, as they are not burdened by the massive interest payments that other nations are facing on the $29 trillion of debt accumulated over the past decade,” the report concluded.
Folk Maritime expands sustainability and connectivity in Middle East shipping
RIYADH: Trade facilitation specialist Folk Maritime Services has secured a strategic agreement with Shanghai CIMC Yangshan Logistics Equipment to purchase 5,600 advanced, fully recyclable shipping containers, revealed the company’s CEO.
The move is part of the Public Investment Fund-owned company’s broader strategy to promote sustainability and drive technological innovation in the Middle East's maritime industry.
Poul Hestbaek emphasized the company’s role as a leader in the regional liner and feeder sector, focusing on sustainability and the implementation of advanced technologies. “These containers have a capacity of 6,700 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) and are 100 percent recyclable,” Hestbaek told Arab News in an interview.
“We have only chosen materials that, once the containers have gone through their lifecycle, can be fully recycled and put back into the production line. This is a significant sustainability element,” he added.
The containers, designed to last 15 to 20 years, are part of Folk Maritime’s broader efforts to reduce its environmental footprint. Hestbaek said, “By designing containers with full recyclability in mind, we’re closing the loop on waste and contributing to a more sustainable shipping industry.”
Innovative Tracking Technology
In addition to sustainability, Folk Maritime is investing in cutting-edge tracking technology to enhance customer experience. The company is installing sensors in its containers that will allow customers to monitor their cargo in real-time.
“We are installing trackers so that our customers can, at any given time, follow their container’s location and monitor their cargo,” Hestbaek said.
These trackers include sensors that provide real-time updates and alerts if the container’s door is opened or closed, ensuring that customers can detect potential compromises to their shipments.
“This feature is relatively new technology. While it may be used in some very big global trade, it’s the first of its kind in the Middle East area. We are the first to offer that, and we believe it will be a big help for our customers,” Hestbaek said.
Expanding regional connectivity
Folk Maritime is expanding its services to improve regional trade connectivity and connect key ports, in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
“Our first services connected Jeddah to Egypt and Jordan. We also opened the first weekly direct connection between Jeddah and NEOM, along with a sea connection to Yanbu, which offers safer transportation of heavy containers and reduces road wear and tear,” Hestbaek said.
Additionally, Folk Maritime has launched services in Port Sudan, further strengthening trade relations between Saudi Arabia and the African nation, and is facilitating cargo transport from India to Jeddah and surrounding countries.
India-Middle East trade corridor
With trade between India and the Middle East expanding rapidly, Folk Maritime is positioning itself to capitalize on this growing corridor.
“Our service connects India directly to Dammam, offering faster and more reliable transit times. Unlike competitors, we skip ports like Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi to ensure quicker delivery for Saudi customers,” Hestbaek said.
India, increasingly a major supplier of goods to the Middle East, has seen Saudi Arabia account for half of the region’s consumption, further underscoring the strategic importance of this new service.
Commitment to sustainability
Sustainability remains a cornerstone of Folk Maritime’s strategy. The company operates fuel-efficient vessels and optimizes services to run at lower, more cost-effective speeds, reducing both fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
“Our vessels are specifically designed to operate efficiently at lower speeds, which significantly reduces our environmental impact,” Hestbaek said.
Looking ahead, Folk Maritime is exploring carbon capture technology to further reduce its environmental footprint. “If we can find a way to capture the carbon footprint of fossil fuel use, it will be a game changer, especially for this part of the world,” Hestbaek emphasized.
Driving Vision 2030 goals
As part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, Folk Maritime is focused on transforming the Kingdom into a global logistics hub. By connecting key ports and streamlining trade flows, the company aims to facilitate greater regional trade while supporting the country’s broader economic objectives.
“Saudi Arabia generates a significant amount of the region’s cargo. Our goal is to serve this growing market and align with Vision 2030’s objectives to create seamless trade networks across the region,” Hestbaek concluded.
Folk Maritime’s focus on sustainability, technological innovation, and expanding regional connectivity positions it as a key player in reshaping Middle East, East Africa, and India trade routes, setting a new benchmark for the shipping industry.
UAE, Hong Kong ink deal to expand cross-border debt issuance and investment
RIYADH: The UAE and Hong Kong are set to deepen ties in cross-border debt securities issuance and investment after their central banks signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance connectivity between their financial markets.
The Central Bank of the UAE and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority formalized the agreement during a bilateral meeting in Hong Kong on Dec. 20, targeting closer integration of their debt capital markets and related financial infrastructures.
The MoU, signed by Khaled Mohamed Balama, governor of the CBUAE, and Eddie Yue, chief executive of the HKMA, is expected to streamline debt issuance, trading, and settlement between Asia and the Middle East.
The collaboration aligns with the UAE’s vision to become a leading link between the Middle East and North African region and global financial markets and Hong Kong’s ambitions to strengthen its status as a bridge to international capital.
“This initiative will help the UAE become the gateway for issuers and investors in the MENA region to access the China and Asian debt markets, while also allowing Chinese and Asian issuers and investors to gain direct access to the MENA debt market through the UAE,” CBUAE Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama said in a statement.
He added: “We aim at unlocking the potential of the two debt capital markets to allow seamless and cost-effective cross-border debt securities issuance, trading, investment, settlement as well as collateral management.”
The pact follows an initial meeting in Abu Dhabi in May, where the two sides began exploring collaboration in financial infrastructure development and investment opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa region and mainland China.
Eddie Yue, chief executive of the HKMA, said the agreement underscores Hong Kong’s role as a financial hub. “The MoU will enhance mutual cooperation and the exchange of expertise in debt capital markets, reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as a gateway to the Renminbi and international debt markets,” Yue said.
He said there was significant potential for the financial sectors of both regions to explore new business opportunities. “We look forward to our continued collaboration with the CBUAE to strengthen investment and financial market connectivity between the Middle East and Asia.”
Key attendees at the meeting included Saif Humaid Al-Dhaheri, assistant governor for banking operations and support services at the CBUAE; Stanley Chan, president of the Central Moneymarkets Unit at the HKMA, and other senior officials.
The move aims to unlock new business opportunities for issuers and investors while advancing market connectivity between the two jurisdictions.
