The volume of foreign investments on smart applications expected to flow into the Kingdom in the next two years is estimated at more than $10 billion (SR37.5 billion), local media said quoting experts.

Information analyst and researcher Abdulrahman Al-Ata said Saudis are among the biggest communities worldwide to use social media including “Whatsapp”, “twitter” and “facebook”.

According to data furnished by the “Social Clinic”, one of the firms engaged in social media applications researches, 7.8 million Saudis were using facebook in 2012, of which 5 million were using smart phones. The data also revealed that 46 percent of the facebook users were based in Riyadh, Al-Ata said.

Meanwhile, the number of “YouTube” viewers stood at 90 million daily at the rate of 7 videos per day for each user whereas the number of “twitter” users reached 5 million at an annual growth rate of 45 percent, he said.

He said 73 percent of “twitter” users are using their smart phones and that the penetration rate of “twitter” in the Kingdom is the highest among Internet users globally at 40 percent. The number of tweets reached 150 million per month, he said.

Walid Taha, an economic researcher said the number of social media users is a good indication that the Saudi market enjoys a high capacity to absorb more specialized investments coming from foreign countries.

In the meantime, member of the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) Abdullah Al-Milihi, who recently joined the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, said a number of mega companies have expressed keenness to make investments in the Saudi market in the area of smart applications.

He said the Kingdom has captured the attention of many global companies eager to benefit from the e-government announced by the Ministry of Interior. The Saudi market has been a target for smart phones and other mobile phone applications conducive to attract mega companies in the field, he pointed out.