“Higher commodity prices are a challenge to importers like Turkey, Egypt and India, as their external balances worsen,” he said.
Asked about the outlook for the Gulf Cooperation Council, he said this is an interesting point in time for the GCC and certainly for Saudi Arabia as well.
Talking about the global context where energy prices are being supported by the global economy coming out of the pandemic, the UBS CIO said he sees the reopening trend accelerating.
Bolliger pointed out that people simply didn’t invest in oil facilities for quite a while now.
He underlined that this movement has become a significant tailwind for this year and probably even for the medium to longer term.
Assessing the performance of financial markets in the world today in light of the pandemic, the volatile oil prices and the unfolding events in Ukraine, Bolliger said there’s a lot on the commodity space as far as Russia is concerned.
Against that backdrop, he said people look back at the other market drivers and what they see is the US economy still doing quite well.
Asked about the latest investment opportunities in the region, particularly in Saudi Arabia, Bolliger shared that they like the fixed-income market.
Also, on the equity side, he said, this year again looks quite promising for Saudi stocks on an index level as it was the best performing emerging market in 2021.
RIYADH: Last April, top strategy and consulting firm Accenture estimated that the global gaming industry exceeded $300 billion, much more than the combined market of music and movies.
Driven by the surge in mobile gaming and the urge for social interaction during the pandemic, the industry has engulfed scores of startups and multinational corporations into its fold.
In fact, some of the developers are smiling all the way to the bank by effortlessly tapping into unexplored cultural niches.
“Arabic is the fourth most spoken language globally, yet only one percent of the overall content is in Arabic.
A few of his earliest games include the Awad the Delivery King, a mobile game featuring a food delivery guy racing around the pothole-riddled streets of Amman.
Launched in 2013, the game developer collaborates with international players and converts their content into Arabic.
Such has been the buzz around Tamatem that, according to a company press release issued last December, it raised $11 million in Series B funding led by PUBG developer Krafton.
In the nick of time, he found 500 Startups, a Silicon Valley-based investor that infused $50,000 in exchange for a 5 percent share, valuing the gaming company at $1 million in 2013.
It has one million active users across its games, three million users playing monthly, and 150 million downloads,” said Hammo, while adding that he is constantly looking for ideas to sustain the numbers.
According to Saudi Social Development Bank, the Kingdom’s video games market has a value of $1 billion and expects to grow to $2.5 billion by 2030.
In January this year, Amazon Saudi Arabia and the UAE announced a collaboration with MENATech, a GGTech Entertainment Group company, to launch Amazon University Esports, the first educational esports league for each country.
In November 2020, the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation, or Misk, announced a strategic investment of around SR813 million to acquire a 33.3 percent stake in Japanese gaming Company SNK Corporation.
Last February, the PIF disclosed stakes of more than 5 percent in two Japan-listed gaming firms, namely Capcom Co.
According to US-Saudi Business Council, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, or MCIT, is also adding fillip to the private-public partnerships and infrastructure investments.
For instance, a game developer like Activision’s Call of Duty could introduce its popular emblems as NFTs, which could be used as your profile picture for your social media accounts.
“In the future, players can make revenues based on reselling those items using the blockchain,” said Ali Al-Harbi, founder and CEO of UMX Studio, a game developer who has already started auctions at his games where players can trade stuff.
Publishers of the popular drag-race game Climbing Sand Dune and police-chase game King of The Steering, the studio has 200,000 daily active users and has clocked 50 million downloads.
“We continue to grow to the next level only because we listen to our audience.
But what will make the Saudi gaming industry tower over the rest in the room is when it listens to the customer and builds a unified narrative celebrating the Arab culture.
As sustainability initiatives pick up speed in the Middle East and North Africa region, consumers are becoming savvier about truly creating change.
Passionate about the world of dance, Lalloo-Morar wanted to create activewear that is as comfortable to wear as it is good for the planet.
Recently, the Kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched a Middle East Green Initiative, aimed at raising $10.4 billion for an investment fund and clean energy projects to reduce carbon emissions.
“We are not just another clothing brand using sustainable fabric,” said Lalloo-Morar.
“Through partnerships and alignment with the relevant municipalities, this would enable us to create the right ecosystem for a fully sustainable offering,” she said.