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HEALTHTECH-
#1- Kaust + amplifAI health partner up for early diabetes detection: The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) signed a MoU with local healthtech startup amplifAI health to develop a new early diabetes detection system, a statement by Kaust read yesterday.
Saving costs: “This effort could save Saudi Arabia more than SAR 2 bn annually in medical costs and reduce 1.5 mn foot amputations worldwide every year, profoundly improving the quality of life of millions of people,” Kaust professor and HyplexTM developer Andrea Fratalocchi said.
By the numbers: Nearly 20% of the Kingdom’s population is diabetic, according to the statement, which cites data from the IDF Diabetes Atlas. The kingdom ranks second-highest in the region and is the seventh globally in diabetes rate, according to the World Health Organization.
#2- Horizon Health Medical will offer medical consultation and prescription services to patients over the phone after landing a license from the Ministry of Health, parent company Bupa Arabia said in a Tadawul filing yesterday. The license is valid for five years.
CEMENT-
Umm Al Qura Cement expects its feedstock cost to increase 11% on the recent fuel price hikes introduced by Aramco, it said in a statement to Tadawul. This is significantly higher than the cost increase penciled in by petrochemicals giant Sabic at 1.7%, Yanbu National Petrochemical (2.8%), and Sabic Agri-Nutrients (3.8%).
Background:Aramco notified industrial and petrochemical companies earlier this month that it is raising the price of diesel 53% to SAR 1.15 per liter this year from SAR 0.75 last year. The impact will be felt much more by energy-intensive industries such as cement than by consumer brands, which tend to have much lower energy needs.
MANUFACTURING-
Saudi Ceramics has pushed back the opening of its porcelain plant to 2Q 2024 from 1Q 2024, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The rescheduling was attributed to delays in regulatory procedures, construction, and in the deliveries of machinery.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-
US-based customer experience platform Genesys opened its first office in Riyadh, it said in a press release last week. The company’s revenues from its business in the Kingdom have almost doubled with a 90% y-o-y increase the third quarter of its fiscal year.
REAL ESTATE-
Facility management firm Musanadah will be using a computer-aided facility management platform (CaFM) provided by US-based real estate operator Facilioto better manage its operations, according to a joint press release yesterday. The cloud-powered platform fromf the US-based company “will help our [Musanadah] technicians and service staff to deliver world-class IFM [integrated facility management] services across multi-site portfolios,” said Vijayshankar Kavasseri, operations director at Musanadah.
INS-
Al Etihad X SNB: Al Etihad Cooperative will be providing ins. coverage services for leased cars to individual clients of the Saudi National Bank (SNB) under a one-year agreement with the lender, according to a disclosure to Tadawul yesterday. The financial impact of the agreement is expected to exceed 5% of the ins. company’s gross written premiums of 2022.
ENERGY-
Energy Minister, Kenyan counterpart mull energy cooperation: Energy Minister Prince Abdelaziz bin Salman discussed with his Kenyan counterpart Davis Chirchir chances of cooperation in petroleum and its supplies, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and an exchange of expertise in the sector, state news agency SPA reported yesterday.
