Why Saudi Arabia? - The Business Year

Hisham Al Bahkali

President & CEO, GE Saudi Arabia & Bahrain

GE has been in the country a long time, and we have done something different from an investment point of view, from tapping oil resources and helping different regions gain access to electricity, supporting aviation and the air force, to improving the healthcare system and, finally, establishing an advanced manufacturing and innovation ecosystem. In 2012, GE launched what we referred to as Project Kingdom, which was a commitment to invest USD1 billion to support the economy by successfully undertaking localization projects in human capability development, manufacturing, and innovation. When Saudi Vision 2030 was announced, we had been working on various investment initiatives for a few months and GE was the first company to support the vision by making a number of large announcements about a month later. At GE, we work with stakeholders to make sure that all the vision’s areas are supported.

Sherif Majeed

CEO, Jotun

We came to Saudi Arabia more than 30 years ago and started by opening a factory in Yanbu in the royal commission area, producing three segments of paint. We then moved from the royal commission area to other factories in Jeddah and then to Dammam and Riyadh. We have offices and warehouses all around the country. We have more than 500 employees on the production line. Our Saudization level is between 40 and 45% in the company, and we are committed to it. Part of the company vision includes involving the local community in our business. We believe in long-term hires and investment in the local community. We started the educational part a long time ago, even before the government started the Saudization program. We involved university students and gave interior design opportunities in our activities developing candidates for the future. In Saudi Arabia, we have three major factories: Dammam, Jeddah, and Yanbu. We have around seven distribution warehouses and more than 500 distribution channels and staff everywhere.

Arja Talakar

CEO, Arja Talakar

We have been active in Saudi Arabia for nearly 90 years. With approximately 2,000 employees, the majority of whom are local, we are a highly skilled organization and long-term partner to the Kingdom. Over the past few years we have been focusing on developing new industries in Saudi Arabia, and that includes strengthening the manufacturing bases of our customers and suppliers. We succeeded in manufacturing the first “Made in KSA“ gas turbine at the Siemens Dammam Energy Hub, and delivered it to one of the most iconic power plant projects in the southern region of Jazan. It was an endeavor that we initiated with our partners some years ago, and during that time, we trained and developed a strong Saudi workforce that built this unique engineering masterpiece, here in Saudi Arabia, for Saudi Arabia. With the announcement of Vision 2030, we succeeded in delivering the first Made in KSA gas turbine; since then we delivered five more from our factory. Siemens is proud to be the first to bring this specific gas turbine technology to the country.

Haytham Al-Ohali

Managing Director, Cisco Saudi Arabia

Starting with the ethics and values we hold at Cisco in Saudi Arabia, we are renowned for putting our customers first and making sure that we practice what we preach. It is all part of the DNA of our organization and our team. Competing with integrity and responsibly is a fundamental value that is embedded in all of our employees. Cisco today is privileged to have a unique memorandum of understanding, as witnessed by HH Prince Mohammed bin Salman, being the key national digitization partner of the country. Reaching this point did not happen overnight; it has taken many years to foster and maintain a close, enduring working relationship that is based on trust, confidence, and our ability to deliver sustained value. The consultative role we have in our partnership with the Saudi government is based on our long-standing collaboration with Saudi businesses and public-sector entities, organizations, and stakeholders. It also reflects the value we add to the community and the technological ecosystem of the Kingdom at large.