MEED: Gulf sovereign funds invest heavily in “digitization”‎

MEED magazine stated that the era of serious investments in digitization that yields specific and clear results may have begun at this time, as the multiple developments that occurred during the past few months indicate the increasing importance of information technology and its integration with operational technology in various industries that will play an important role in achieving the economic visions of the Gulf countries.

The magazine added that the prosperity of data centers depends on the increasing demand for data services, as the march of e-commerce expansion continues along with the automation of industries and government processes, and the need to attract foreign direct investment to help launch the information technology sector is considered. Locality with a focus on artificial intelligence, video games and cloud services is another major contributor to this trend.

On the other hand, the energy and electricity generation sector, which is considered a major source of carbon emissions, focuses on creating smart networks that represent a mixture of hardware and software solutions that can efficiently monitor the production, distribution and consumption of electricity and water, to reduce and eliminate waste of resources, and help reduce emissions. .

Smart grids, through their increased containment of artificial intelligence units, have become an indispensable tool in the management of intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy, especially in light of the high cost of battery energy storage systems.

Increasing the transformation of the transport sector to run on electricity rather than fossil fuels will also require greater integration with the grid, and in this regard, most of the GCC countries are formulating a policy framework to accommodate electric vehicles, which plays a major role in the goal of reducing carbon emissions, and is also being Explore the next step, which includes self-driving vehicles.

The Public Investment Fund owns stakes in the electric car maker Lucid and British car group McLaren

An example of this is the virtual power plant project of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), which demonstrates the need to integrate different energy sources such as electric cars, charging stations and solar energy for domestic uses.

The major sovereign wealth funds in the region and their subsidiaries have used their tools in extensive accesses and tours in the technology sector as well. In addition to acquiring shares in well-known technology companies and emerging companies, companies affiliated with sovereign funds are also establishing funds to finance technical investments.