BEIJING: Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Wednesday it is opening an artificial intelligence (AI) research center in China to target the country’s local talent, even as the US search firm’s products remain blocked in the country.
Google said in a statement the research center is the first of its kind in Asia and will comprise a small team operating out of its existing office in Beijing.
Chinese policy makers have voiced strong support for AI research and development in the country, but have imposed increasingly strict rules on foreign firms in the past year, including new censorship restrictions.
Google’s search engine is banned in the Chinese market along with its app store, email and cloud storage services. China’s cyber regulators say restrictions on foreign media and Internet platforms are designed to block influences that contravene stability and socialist ideas.
While tightening restrictions are likely to hamper a re-entry to the Chinese market for Google, the firm has increasingly focused on exposing its AI products in China.
This year Google held a Go tournament in cooperation with local authorities in eastern China, pitching its AI against Chinese world champion Go player Ke Jie. The event was highly publicized overseas but local media was muted.
Earlier this month Google CEO Sundar Pichai made an appearance at a conference run by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s top cyber regulator, where he steered away from market access issues to discuss the potential of AI.
Google said the new Chinese AI research center will join a list of similar overseas centers operating in New York, Toronto, London and Zurich.
Google launching artificial intelligence research center in China
Google launching artificial intelligence research center in China
Closing Bell: Saudi stocks slip as Tadawul falls 1% amid broad market weakness
RIYADH: Saudi stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, with the Tadawul All Share Index closing down 108.14 points, or 1.03 percent, at 10,381.51.
The broader decline was reflected across major indices. The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index slipped 0.78 percent to 1,378.00, while Nomu, the parallel market index, fell 1 percent to 23,040.79.
Market breadth was strongly negative on the main board, with 237 stocks falling compared to just 24 gainers. Trading activity remained robust, with 164.7 million shares changing hands and a total traded value of SR3.19 billion ($850.6 million).
Among the gainers, SEDCO Capital REIT Fund led, rising 2.73 percent to SR6.77, followed by Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., which gained 2.69 percent to SR20.20.
National Medical Care Co. added 1.72 percent to close at SR141.60, while Alyamamah Steel Industries Co. and Thimar Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing Co. advanced 1.57 percent and 1.13 percent, respectively.
Losses were led by Al Masar Al Shamil Education Co., which tumbled 8.36 percent to SR24.65. Raoom Trading Co.fell 6.75 percent to SR64.20, while Alkhaleej Training and Education Co. dropped 6.60 percent to SR18.12 and Naqi Water Co. declined 5.51 percent to SR54.00. Gulf General Cooperative Insurance Co. closed 5.44 percent lower at SR3.65.
On the announcement front, Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co. signed a multiyear insurance agreement with Saudi Electricity Co. to provide various coverages, expected to positively impact its financial results over the 2025–2026 period. The deal will run for three years and two months and is within the company’s normal course of business.
Meanwhile, Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance Co. announced a one-year health insurance contract with Saudi National Bank, valued at SR330.2 million, covering the bank’s employees and their families from January 2026. Despite the sizable contract, Bupa Arabia shares fell 0.8 percent to close at SR137, weighed down by the broader market weakness.
In contrast, United Cooperative Assurance Co. revealed an extension of its engineering insurance agreement with Saudi Binladin Group for the Grand Mosque expansion in Makkah. The contract value exceeds 20 percent of the company’s gross written premiums based on its latest audited financials and is expected to support results through 2026. However, the stock came under selling pressure, ending the session down 4.51 percent at SR3.39.
