RIYADH: A cloud storage company, an iron sheet manufacturer, and a logistics management center are among the firms being established by Saudi Arabian Oil Co.’s Industrial Investments Program, Namaat.
The initiative, launched by the oil giant in 2021, is helping to launch 31 local and international companies with an estimated total value of SR92 billion ($24.53 billion), it has been announced.
Of those firms, 13 have started their operations, while five other companies are still in the implementation and construction phase, according to Al-Arabiya.
The latest developments come a year on from Namaat revealing it had reached 55 investments, and in 2021 it announced it had signed 22 memorandums of understanding to drive forward the initiative.
Speaking in July 2022, Ahmad Al-Sa’adi, Aramco’s senior vice president of technical services, said: “Namaat enables Aramco to be a catalyst for change across the Kingdom’s economy while maintaining our reliability as a global energy supplier at a time of market uncertainty.”
Namaat, meaning “collective growth” in Arabic, was formed to “tap into the vast opportunities in Saudi Arabia to create new value.”
Companies that signed the deals with Aramco in September 2021 included DHL, Samsung, Hyundai, Honeywell and British technology firm AVEVA.
According to Aramco’s website, Namaat is the “natural next step” to the company’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add Program, which is focused on enhancing supply-chain efficiencies and reliability.
“It also complements other initiatives that aim to create a world-class energy and industrial ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, such as the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services, and King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), a sustainability-focused energy park being built by Aramco,” says the website.
Other companies to previously sign deals with Namaat include Armorock and AlKifah Precast, which created a joint venture to localize the use of polymers in concrete production and a consortium involving Accenture, Al Gihaz Holding and Impulse Partners for establishing and operating the Spark Digital Center.
