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RIYADH: Alat, a subsidiary of ����ֱ��’s Public Investment Fund, is preparing to start manufacturing personal computers and servers at its new facility in Riyadh, the company’s CEO told Asharq Business.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative conference, Amit Midha said production will begin once the facility becomes operational, with smartphones expected to follow at a later stage. 

The factory, developed under Alat’s partnership with Lenovo, will serve as a key component of ����ֱ��’s strategy to localize high-tech manufacturing. 

“We are going to have our first factory opened later this year, right here in Riyadh. And that will manufacture personal computers, smartphones and servers. Smartphones will be next year, but PCs and servers will start this year,” Midha said.

He also highlighted Alat’s €160 million ($186 million) joint venture with TKE, which aims to produce elevators and escalators in ����ֱ�� by 2026. 

“They (TKE) have elevators that can go both vertically and horizontally. So, if you have a big event or concert, we can really move people into the other tower and then get them down. And in the horizontal scenario, Neom has a lot of applications as well,” added Midha. 

The partnership with TKE also aligns with projections that ����ֱ��’s elevator and escalator market will reach $1.84 billion by 2030, according to Markets and Data. 

Launched in 2024, Alat seeks to localize production across strategic sectors including semiconductors, smart devices, advanced industrials, and next-generation infrastructure, targeting an addition of about $9.3 billion to the Kingdom’s non-oil gross domestic product by 2030. 

Midha added that Alat is also developing projects in AI infrastructure, electrification, and energy transition. 

“We have a business unit focused on AI infrastructure; whether it is electrification, servers, networking switches, cabling, testing, all of that a business unit does. And in that aspect, we support everything that is happening in the Kingdom. Whether it is Humain, Datavolt, STC and others, to support their AI journey,” Midha said. 
 
He added: “Why would we be importing all the products, when you can manufacture them, bring the supply chain, and develop the talent along the way. And that is the objective around AI infrastructure.” 

JEDDAH: Qatar’s manufacturing sector contributed 26.84 billion Qatari riyals ($7.25 billion) to the nation’s gross domestic product in the first half of 2025, reflecting strong industrial growth, trade expansion, and digital business reforms. 

The sector added 13.44 billion riyals in the second quarter alone, the Qatar News Agency reported, citing data published by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. 

The announcement followed the ministry’s third quarterly performance review for 2025, chaired by Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al-Thani, and attended by Undersecretary Mohammed bin Hassan Al-Malki, along with assistant undersecretaries and department directors. 

The gains come amid the rollout of Qatar’s National Manufacturing Strategy 2024–2030, which aims to generate 70.5 billion riyals in value added, boost non-hydrocarbon exports to 49 billion riyals, and attract 2.75 billion riyals in annual industrial investments by 2030.

The strategy features 15 initiatives and 60 projects designed to advance smart manufacturing, enhance research, and align education with industry requirements.

The statement noted that the meeting reviewed the third quarter achievements, sector performance, and challenges, while exploring solutions to improve implementation, efficiency, and service quality. 

“Among the notable achievements highlighted was the entry into force of the Qatar–Turkiye economic and trade partnership agreement on August 1, 2025, which has boosted trade exchange and eased investment restrictions,” QNA reported. 

The agency added that the ministry also launched a digital platform to showcase public-private partnership projects and introduced 20 new e-services covering licensing, market monitoring, competition protection, consumer rights, and anti-commercial fraud. 

In the third quarter, the ministry rolled out the “My Companies” mobile service, a voluntary mergers and acquisitions review program, and received the Golden Shield award, ranking first in the 11th Cybersecurity Drill. 

Other milestones included unifying land, sea, and air freight in a single commercial registry, issuing temporary licenses for Sealine service providers, updating industrial and trade guides, convening the Public–Private Dialogue Forum, enhancing cooperation with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and granting certain fee exemptions. 

Trade indicators showed strong momentum, with new commercial registrations rising 81.5 percent year on year, active registrations increasing 18.1 percent, and company setup time reduced to two days, QNA stated. 

Active commercial licenses grew 6.8 percent, while 4,631 new non-Qatari companies were established. The single-window platform added five e-services, processed 72,500 transactions — 89 percent electronically — and achieved 94 percent customer satisfaction. 

“Regarding business environment enhancement, the Ministry successfully identified and resolved 35 percent of the challenges facing the private sector. Twelve PPP projects were studied in 2025, three more than in Q2, with four new projects launched and one awarded in Q3,” QNA reported. 

In the consumer affairs sector, the number of specialized licenses issued increased 30.87 percent compared with the third quarter of 2024, while processing time was reduced to one day. 

The time required to process price-adjustment requests for goods and services also fell compared with the first two quarters of 2025. Beneficiaries of ration services rose 2.61 percent year on year, while the number of fodder distributors surged 96.9 percent, the report added.