RIYADH, 29 October 2006 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will sponsor the first Global Competitiveness Forum Series in Riyadh on Nov. 8. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will be the keynote speaker. Gates is well known as a technological wizard and the world’s richest man with a net worth of some $53 billion.

Addressing a press conference, Amr Abdullah Dabbagh, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), said Gates would speak on “The Role and Impact of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in Enabling the Economy and Related Challenges for Saudi Arabia.” Dr. Khaled Al-Dhaher, general manager of Microsoft Saudi Arabia, was also present.

The SAGIA governor paid tributes to King Abdullah for his initiative in organizing the forum that seeks to enhance the Kingdom’s economic competitiveness by promoting partnership between public and private enterprises.

Al-Dabbagh said the event would bring together global leaders and thinkers as well as IT and economic experts and translate their ideas and visions into a new formula to transform the economic environment in the Kingdom into a magnet for domestic and overseas investors.

The governor said the Competitiveness Forum was one of the tools developed by SAGIA under the 10x10 program that targets putting Saudi Arabia among the ten globally competitive investment destinations by 2010.

Currently, about three percent of all foreign direct investment (FDI) goes to the Arab world. The region’s share in global trade has shrunk by almost 35 percent since 1980 to just three percent.

Referring to the upcoming event, Al-Dabbagh said: “The ICT sector has been chosen as the first theme of the 1st Global Competitiveness Forum because of its vibrant impact on the economic productivity and competitiveness. ICT is by all means a promising sector and has a wide market that has big potential for developing a knowledge-based economy in Saudi Arabia.”

In reply to a question on attracting investment in less developed areas, the governor said they were working in two directions. One is building economic cities to provide total solutions through investment to develop the infrastructure, improve the lifestyle of people by adding various components to the economic development program, such as setting up recreation, education and health care facilities as well as establishing industrial estates, etc.

“Most of our economic cities are located in areas that lack infrastructure. In Rabigh, where the King Abdullah Economic City has been launched, Emaar will develop the whole infrastructure and provide an attractive environment for local and foreign direct investment.”

Second is to provide for incentives to investors, he said. “We have reached an agreement with the Ministry of Finance to give tax credit to less developed regions in Hail, Jizan, etc. This will be a major attraction for diverting investments to the less developed regions. Also, we have agreed with the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) to double the grace period for loan repayment to projects in those regions.”

Informed sources said there would be three types of tax credit available to investors. They will be entitled to a tax break on the value of their investment in the region, on the wage bill of their Saudi employees, and on the amount invested in training programs. Thus investment in the less developed regions will be an attractive proposition for investors.

Speaking on behalf of Microsoft, Dr. Khaled Al-Dhaher said: “Microsoft is committed to developing ICT and putting Saudi Arabia among the top countries benefiting from this dynamic sector. We are working on initiatives that lay the foundation for a healthy knowledge-based economy for the benefit of our country and people.”

He said Bill Gates’ keynote address at the forum would reflect the joint vision of Microsoft and SAGIA to make the Kingdom one of the top 10 global destinations for competitive investments. “It is not only an economic option, but also a strategic demand we all should try to address,” he observed.

Asked about Gates’ program, Al-Dhaher said he would have a full agenda during his one-day visit. He will meet with top representatives of both government and private-sector organizations and harness the synergy into building up the Kingdom’s competitive environment.

In reply to a question on what Microsoft is doing to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Al-Dhaher said they had a strategy. The starting point is to understand their needs and capabilities.

“Only then can we provide our technology based on their needs. For this, we have created a special department to help us understand their needs. The second component of our strategy is Industry Certification for SMEs. Such a program will be launched soon,” he added.