RIYADH, 30 November 2007 — Amr Abdullah Al-Dabbagh, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), has said they are focusing on a marketing strategy based on three strategic sectors: energy, transportation and knowledge-based industries (KBIs) and invited France to participate in them.
In an interview on the occasion of the French Technology Exhibition 2007 which concluded recently, the SAGIA Governor said “ we have identified $300 billions worth of investment opportunities, and in transportation and KBIs $100 billions are awaiting investment opportunities in each of those sectors. So we are speaking about a total investment of around $500 billions until 2020. A country like France can step in and establish itself in these three sectors,” he said, adding that the Kingdom is now interested in technology flow.
He said the Kingdom was in the midst of a major economic boom and invited the French private sector to take advantage of it. “For instance in the IT sector alone, SAGIA has identified $100 billion worth of opportunities available until 2020 in every segment of this domain. French technology houses should consider going into tie-ups in this sector. Last week we were in France with a small delegation and were not surprised by the high level of French interest.”
INSEAD, a top-tier international business school with full-fledged campuses in Fontainebleau, France and Singapore, currently has 144 faculty members who teach more than 870 MBA students, 6,400 executives and 71 PhD students from over 75 countries.
Asked why SAGIA chose to be a partner with Ubifrance in the French roadshow, the governor said “we at SAGIA feel that activities like this exhibition are an important priority for us, because one domain we are focusing on at SAGIA is technology. We would also consider supporting similar activities in the health and education sectors which address technology segments.” He said France definitely has a lot to offer in this particular field.
