Saudi Arabia made huge strides in electronic chips, semiconductor development: Official

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's flag

Ahmed Alfaifi, Director of the Saudi Semiconductors Program, said the Kingdom has made huge strides in the research and development (R&D) and innovation in the field of electronic chips and semiconductor development through several research bodies and universities.

“We still have a long way to go, and we have semiconductor laboratories with an area of 1,600 square meters,” Alfaifi told CNBC Arabia.

The semiconductor industry is considered the world's fourth commodity in terms of market value, behind crude oil, auto, and petrochemicals industries, with a value of up to $500 billion. Its size is expected to exceed $1 trillion in 2030, he highlighted.

Furthermore, the semiconductor industry is one of the most growing worldwide, being considered a cornerstone of digital daily life. It is being embraced by various other industries, most notably artificial intelligence and autos, as electronic chips constitute about 40% of a car’s value, with their share seen to rise to 50% of the total value within the next five years, said the official.

He also noted that the National Semiconductor Hub aims to transfer, localize and establish 50 semiconductor companies in the Kingdom by 2030, in addition to training and employing 5,000 engineers to boost industry-specific calibers.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia announced setting up a fund valued at up to SAR 1 billion, aimed at investing in semiconductor companies that plan to kick off operations in the Kingdom. The fund targets bringing the number of semiconductor firms operating locally to 50 in total over the five to six years, data available to Argaam showed.

The Kingdom aims to attract 25 international industry experts and to support the sector’s startups to become global players.