Saudi IT market to touch USD 5 billion by 2015
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s lucrative IT sector – currently the biggest in the Gulf region – is expected to grow into a USD 4.9 billion market by 2015. It currently represents almost 70 per cent of the Gulf’s total IT business and has received investments in excess of USD 35 billion over the last 10 years.
The Kingdom’s governing Shura Council has already set a strategic objective to raise the IT industry’s GDP contribution to 20 per cent by 2020, reflecting the government’s treatment of the development of information and communications technologies (ICT) as a national priority. Other growth factors include a predominantly youthful demographic and a growing population which are expected to drive per capita spending to USD 186 in the next three years. More than USD 4 billion in local projects could be spent over the next few years into IT segments such as data centers, video gaming, hardware and semiconductors manufacturing and ICT services.
