RIYADH: China’s growing interest in the Middle East continues as the country’s sovereign wealth fund partnered with Bahrain’s Investcorp to establish a $1 billion investment pot. 

According to a press statement, Investcorp Golden Horizon fund will assist companies across Saudi Arabia, the wider Gulf Cooperation Council region and China. 

The reserve will be anchored by reputable institutional and private investors from the GCC, as well as China Investment Corp. 

The press statement revealed that target companies are expected to have high growth potential in sectors including consumer, health care, logistics and business services.

“During the past couple of years, we have built several bilateral funds with leading financial institutions to facilitate industrial cooperation between China and major economies in the world,” said Bin Qi, executive vice president and chief information officer at CIC. 

He added: “Currently, we are working closely with Investcorp to build a similar bilateral fund to strengthen financial and industrial ties between China and GCC countries.” 

This commitment from CIC comes when the GCC’s appeal to institutional investors is gathering pace, thanks to its stable regulatory environment and pro-business policies, driven by economic diversification efforts in the region and strategic privatization mandates. 

“This commitment by CIC, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, is a testament to Investcorp’s unparalleled franchise in the GCC and reinforces the trust placed in the firm’s global platform and teams. We are looking forward to building on this relationship and growing our partnership in the future,” said Mohammed Al-Ardhi, executive chairman of Investcorp. 

Co-CEO of Investcorp Hazem Ben-Gacem said the launch of the new fund will facilitate cross-border cooperation and investments between the GCC and China. 

Trade and economic relationships between the Middle East and China have always been strong. 

In 2023, China’s exports to Saudi Arabia and the UAE amounted to $42.86 billion and $55.68 billion respectively. 

On the other hand, the Asian giant’s imports from Saudi Arabia totaled $64.36 billion in 2023. 

In November, Saudi Arabia’s central bank, also known as SAMA, and the People’s Bank of China signed a local currency swap agreement worth $6.93 billion. 

SAMA, in a statement, said that the three-year agreement “has been established in the context of financial cooperation between the Saudi Central Bank and the People’s Bank of China.”

The Asian country’s central bank said that the agreement will help strengthen financial cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China, promote the use of local currencies, and strengthen trade and investments between nations.

RIYADH: The Kingdom’s flagship airline Saudia has launched a beta version of its digital platform, the Travel Companion, powered by advanced artificial intelligence, aiming to transform the industry.

The new initiative, unveiled during a special event, is part of a two-year plan developed in partnership with global professional services firm Accenture.

“This platform, resulting from our ongoing collaboration with Accenture, signifies our forward-looking approach to providing guests with unparalleled convenience and flexibility,” the Director General of Saudia Group, Ibrahim Al-Omar, said. 

The main objective of this launch is to transform how travelers engage with the airline and establish new benchmarks for digital travel.

TC, initially named, offers personalized and tailored solutions to meet individual preferences and needs, providing search results from trusted and authenticated sources and incorporating visual aids in its responses.

The interface is designed as a comprehensive, one-stop solution that enables users to book concierge services, including hotels, transportation, and restaurants, as well as activities and attractions, without the need to switch between multiple platforms.

“This is a beta version. This is not the product. We will keep enhancing and developing it,” Al-Omar stressed.

Moreover, it establishes seamless connections with transportation platforms and various train companies, ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted journey.

Commenting on the new announcement, Chief Data and Technology Officer at Saudia, Abdulgader Attiah, told Arab News: “It’s like having the VVVIP concierge service at your hand. For public, it’s not any anymore VIP service. It’s not a paid service. You have it for free, and it will give you all what all kind of services that VVIP service would provide to you, so it’s your private concierge.”

He added: “We will be the anchor for the travel industry. We are not anymore, an operator for an airline, but with this app, you will be an anchor for all tourism ecosystem in a single app, so everyone can collaborate in this app, and having the links, so you don’t need to communicate with any other party, so through this app, you can communicate to all travel ecosystem.”

In future phases, Saudia plans to add more features, including voice command and digital payment solutions.

“Once we add the complete solution we will add the more services, which is we call it the concierge services; booking for hotels and transportation and the restaurants, all of these ones is done during the, next two years, and this is the complete life cycle of the, vision we have today,” Attiah told Arab News.

He added: “If you want to develop this app, five years back, it would take three, four years. Today, we have developed only in seven, eight months. To that from the inspirational part to having an actual booking, we started back in June and now we are live.”

Attiah also underlined that Saudia is the first airline in the world to implement a GenAI-based chatbot that can perform end-to-end actions, meaning it can not only engage in conversation but also execute tasks or actions based on user requests.

With an always-on Travel Companion available through a telecom e-SIM card provided by Saudia, users can stay connected globally without relying on additional internet providers.

Furthermore, users can purchase data packages for extended use, guaranteeing continuous access to the platform’s services.