Saudi Vision 2030: Excitement for the future
It’s been 8 years since Saudi Arabia first announced its Vision 2030; a nationwide mission centred on economic growth, digital transformation and seeking an alternative route to oil dependency.
But how has this gone so far? Here are four key components of the Saudi ambition that you, the reader, should be critically aware of.
The GDP Contribution of the Private Sector
According to KSA’s Minister of Economy and Planning, Faisal Alibrahim, there are high hopes in increasing private sector investments from 40% to 65%. Just between Q1-Q3 of 2022, non-oil activities had grown by 5.9% — the highest rate in 12 years.¹
As of 2024, the Saudi stock company Aljazira Capital and US-based Moody’s have predicted a 4.4% and 4.6% GDP increase² in private sector investments, respectively, likely to be propelled via megaprojects and the Vision 2030 initiatives.³
The Cloud Computing Economic Zone
Much of the excitement surrounding Saudi’s proliferating economy is the ever-increasing emphasis upon cloud computing. Under Vision 2030, several ‘Special Economic Zones’ (SEZs) have been created, in particular the Cloud SEZ.
Cloud providers such as Azure and Oracle have established a data centre presence across the country. Google has done so in partnership with Aramco⁴ and Alibaba Cloud has established a joint venture with eWTP Arabia Capital.⁵
Microsoft also hopes to invest in a new cloud datacenter region in KSA, with predictions for generating $24 billion in new revenues over the next 4 years.⁶ This has been echoed by Microsoft’s MENA Vice President Samer Abu-Ltaif who said:
“the new data centre region will provide organizations [with] resilient cloud services whilst addressing their data residency, security… and compliance needs”.⁷
And here are just some of the numerous benefits for businesses, aimed to attract and support the Kingdom’s digital transformation:
- 5% Corporate Income Tax for up to 20 years
- Zero Withholding Tax: Companies can more easily move profits back to their home countries.
- Zero VAT: Goods Exchanged within and between SEZs are exempt from VAT.
- Supporting Foreign Talent: Simplified process for hiring foreign experts and professionals, particularly in the initial years of operation.⁸
- Startup Support: Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are supported, with growing engagement with AI, Machine Learning and more.⁹
AWS and Saudi Arabia
As Saudi Arabia makes preparations to propel itself into the cloud scene, it does so in partnership with AWS. In recent news, the global cloud provider has made talks about launching an infrastructure region in KSA.¹⁰
AWS plans to invest more than $5.3 billion in the nation — roughly 19.88 billion SAR. The infrastructure region will be launched in 2026, providing developers, enterprises, healthcare and many other organisations with the ability to run their applications and serve end-users from data centres within Saudi Arabia.
To Abdullah Alswaha, the Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, this will ignite…
“A new era of technological excellence and innovation for the Kingdom”.
The new AWS region will consist of 3 AZs. Alongside this, is the renewed support of increasing growth in cloud adoption across the Kingdom; offering AWS Academy, AWS Educate, AWS re/Start and AWS Skill Builder, helping learners of all backgrounds and experience prepare for cloud careers.
AWS has partnered with several Saudi organisations to drive digital transformation; including Abdul Latif Jameel, Almari, Mobility and Red Sea Global. To add, Saudi Arabia has also incorporated AWS Academy Courses into their curricula, such as at the King Khalid University, Majmaah University and Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University.
Saudi Vision: The Consultant’s Contributions
Saudi Arabia’s momentous adoption of cloud technologies is one that should be met with keen eyes. To do so, let’s have a quick overview of how global consultancies working closely with the Kingdom are viewing the changes.
According to PwC’s Global Workforce survey, 57% of respondents within Saudi Arabia are excited about the future of their children and the possibilities technology can offer. Furthermore, 59% of CEO respondents have declared an aim to increase their investments in digital transformation by 10%.¹¹ This comes at a time where PwC has fostered growth contributing to the doubling of non-oil revenue from 163 billion SAR to 411.¹²
PwC
With a sudden growth in Saudi women employment (36% in 2023, ahead of the 2030 target) and homeownership exceeding 60% it’s obvious there is much to feel positive about.¹³
But as with all things, there are hiccups. Just in 2022, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) totalled 0.7% of Saudi’s GDP, much below the 2030 target of 5.7%. Whilst this has been tackled considerably as of 2024 (FDI having risen to 5.6% or $2.53 billion) there is still more to be done.¹⁴
EY
EY has also been closely collaborating with the National Government Digital Academy, training 1.2–1.4 million public sector employees. This has involved broader experimentation with AI, blockchain and IoT.
GOV.SA, launched as part of the Vision 2030 initiative, has been identified as a centre-point for implementing new technologies — EY has been working closely on this project.¹⁵
Conclusion
Exciting times are ahead for the nation, both economically and technologically — just what will the future hold for this Kingdom? For now, it’s all up in the clouds.
About the Author:
Akira Allman is an AWS DevOps Engineer at Version 1.
Sources
[1] Argaam, Private sector contribution to Saudi GDP above 43%, aim to reach 65% by 2030: Minister, 2022. https://www.argaam.com/en/article/articledetail/id/1608315
[2] Tine, A. D. Saudi private sector’s contribution to real GDP up 3.4% in Q3, 2023.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2431126/business-economy
[3] Arab News, Saudi Arabia’s GDP to surge by 4.4% in 2024: report, 2023.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2435231/business-economy
[4] Swinhoe, D. Google to launch Saudi cloud region this week, DCD, 2023.
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/google-to-launch-saudi-cloud-region-this-week/
[5] Zawya, Alibaba Cloud-stc JV kicks off operations in Saudi Arabia, 2022.
https://www.zawya.com/en/business/technology-and-telecom/alibaba-cloud-stc-jv-kicks-off-operations-in-saudi-arabia-ejmozqxu
[6] Microsoft, Microsoft Announces Intent to Expand Cloud Regions through Saudi Arabia Datacenter, 2023.
https://news.microsoft.com/en-xm/features/microsoft-announces-intent-to-expand-cloud-regions-through-saudi-arabia-datacenter/
[7] PYMNTS, Microsoft to Launch New Cloud Region in Saudi Arabia, 2023.
https://www.pymnts.com/big-data/2023/microsoft-to-launch-new-cloud-region-in-saudi-arabia/
[8] ECZA, Saudi Arabia’s Growing Network of Special Economic Zones, 2023.
https://sez.ecza.gov.sa/en/
[9] CST, To Promote Saudi Arabia’s Position as a Global Investment Hub…, 2023.
https://www.cst.gov.sa/en/mediacenter/pressreleases/Pages/20230414.aspx
[10] Amazon, AWS to Launch an Infrastructure Region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2024.
https://press.aboutamazon.com/2024/3/aws-to-launch-an-infrastructure-region-in-the-kingdom-of-saudi-arabia
[11] PwC, Vision 2030 in a Post-Pandemic World — PwC Middle East, N/A.
https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/blog/vision-2030-post-pandemic-world.html
[12] PwC, Assessing Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 progress, 2023.
https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/media-centre/articles/assessing-saudi-srabias-vision-2030-progress.html
[13] PwC, Saudi Economy Watch, 2023.
https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/publications/saudi-arabia-economy-watch/documant/saudi-economy-watch-english-part.pdf
[14] Reuters, Saudi Arabia’s net foreign investments rises 5.6% in first quarters, 2024.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabias-net-foreign-direct-investment-rises-56-first-quarter-2024-06-30/
[15] EY, How digital transformation is changing the fabric of a nation, N/A.
https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ey.com/en_sa/digital/how-digital-transformation-is-changing-the-fabric-of-a-nation
