TusStar Middle East Delegation's Saudi Trip Yields Fruitful ResultsPrint

Post Time：2024-03-12来源：TusStar

In 2024, TusHoldings launched the "Hundred Cities, Thousand Enterprises, Ten Thousand Talents" Global Expansion Plan, dedicated to promoting global sci-tech innovation exchange and cooperation. In early March, a TusStar Middle East delegation, led by Han Wei, Vice President of TusHoldings and Executive President of TusStar, and Wang Fei, Deputy General Manager of TusStar, visited Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, for exchanges. The delegation delved into Saudi Arabia's innovation ecosystem to seek potential business opportunities and also attended the region's largest tech exhibition, to understand the latest trends in cutting-edge technologies.

The delegation included five frontier technology companies: AISpeech, Wan Yin Network Technology, Zhejiang Bosheng Electronics, Neural Galaxy, and Beijing CreatUnion Information Technology. During the short inspection tour, the entrepreneurs engaged in in-depth discussions with Saudi government entities, learned about enterprise support programs, visited technology parks and incubators, and established connections with business service providers and potential partners. Additionally, the delegation members held extensive exchanges with multiple Chinese companies already operating locally, gaining valuable insights into expanding overseas.

Participating entrepreneurs reported achieving "cooperative intentions," "clarifying business pathways," and "establishing cooperative links." Let's revisit this fruitful Saudi sci-tech innovation journey together!

01. Review of the Saudi Sci-Tech Innovation Journey

Visiting Technology Parks and Incubators

The strong cooperative relationship between TusStar and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) provided rich content and deep exchange opportunities for this sci-tech entrepreneur delegation.

Through careful arrangements by both sides, the delegation visited KACST, inspected the GARAGE accelerator and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) innovation center within the city, toured the Industry 4.0 lab and semiconductor lab, and were invited to attend the "IASP International Science Park Network and Tech Valley Seminar." At the seminar, KACST President Munir M. Eldesouki delivered a speech, and Han Wei, Vice President of TusHoldings and Executive President of TusStar, was invited to speak.

Through the research visit to KACST, the delegation gained a deep understanding of Saudi national development support plans, Saudi "Vision 2030," and various support policies for sci-tech innovation enterprises.

▲ Visiting the GARAGE accelerator

▲ Attending the "IASP International Science Park Network and Tech Valley Seminar" and exchanging ideas with guests

In-Depth Dialogue with Industrial Groups

During this Saudi trip, besides establishing close ties with the Saudi government and science parks, the delegation also visited the headquarters of the prominent Saudi industrial and investment group, Ajlan & Bros Holding Group.

Fawaz Fahad Alaqeel, CEO of the group's defense business, and Hatim M. Al Sharif, CEO of the healthcare business, warmly received the Chinese sci-tech entrepreneurs and led their investment team in in-depth exchanges and matchmaking. The entrepreneurs introduced their respective companies and actively explored investment opportunities.

▲ Discussion and exchange with the executive team of Ajlan & Bros Holding Group

Addressing Financial and Legal Needs

Additionally, delegation members visited SAB Bank, one of Saudi Arabia's largest banks. Hou Zhi Chao, Client Manager for Chinese Business, introduced financial services available for foreign enterprises setting up in Saudi Arabia and answered relevant queries.

▲ SAB Bank Chinese Business Client Manager Hou Zhi Chao introducing financial services for sci-tech enterprises establishing in Saudi Arabia

Regarding legal consultancy services, the entrepreneurs had a dinner meeting with the executive teams of King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) and its local cooperative law firm, Eversheds Sutherland. Mohd Aldhabaan, Office Managing Partner of the Saudi law firm; John Kemkers, Senior Office Partner, and Li Tianren, Partner at KWM and Middle East Regional Contact Person, had thorough exchanges with the entrepreneurs.

▲ Dinner exchange with the executive teams of King & Wood Mallesons and the local cooperative law firm

Learning from "Overseas Expansion Veterans"

Another important purpose of the delegation's visit to Saudi Arabia was to learn from Chinese companies already established there and draw on their expansion experience. To this end, TusStar arranged for the delegation to visit Chinese companies successfully operating in Saudi Arabia, such as SenseTime, BGI Genomics, XCMG, and J&T Express.

The entrepreneurs gained in-depth understanding of these companies' local development history, operational strategies, and cultural integration experiences. They held in-depth discussions on topics like the localization of Chinese enterprises, cross-cultural communication, and the impact of regional politics on business operations. Through these on-site inspections and exchanges, delegation members not only gained valuable experience but also established connections with peer companies, laying the groundwork for future cooperation.

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▲ Wang Xiaogang, SenseTime Co-founder and Chief Scientist, Huang Jigong, SenseTime International Business CEO, and Cheng Zhuo, Assistant to the CEO of SenseTime International Business Group, received the delegation.

▲ The delegation visited BGI Genomics' comprehensive precision medicine testing laboratory, Genalive. The TusStar entrepreneur delegation received by Ma Zhe, BGI Genomics Middle East Regional General Manager, Li Wenqi, BGI Genomics Medical Services COO and others.

▲ Han Ke, General Manager of XCMG Saudi Company, in discussions with the delegation enterprises.

▲ Zhang Long, J&T Express Middle East Legal Director, Yang Bo, J&T Express Saudi Marketing Manager, and Sun Jiankai, J&T Express Saudi Hub Operations Supervisor, had detailed exchanges with the delegation's sci-tech entrepreneurs.

Attending the "Digital Davos" LEAP Exhibition

During the TusStar Middle East delegation's visit to Riyadh, the LEAP exhibition, hailed as the "Digital Davos," grandly opened at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center. This global tech event, hosted by the Saudi Ministry of Communications, has also become the best-attended tech exhibition globally.

Compared to the first LEAP in 2022, which attracted 700 exhibitors, this year's exhibitor count exceeded 1,800, with a cumulative total of 220,000 visitors. TusStar led the delegation of overseas expansion enterprises to participate in this exhibition, aiming to understand the latest global tech development trends, establish connections with numerous exhibitors, and explore potential cooperation opportunities.

▲ Communicating and exchanging ideas with Yang Bo, General Manager of the Saudi joint venture of Chinese AI company 4Paradigm.

▲ Communicating and exchanging ideas with Cai Shiguo, Head of Middle East Region from exhibiting company Shenzhen Laihua Technology.

02. Delegation Entrepreneurs' Impressions

After several days of intensive interactions and exchanges, the participating companies unanimously reported that the trip was highly rewarding and insightful.

Below, we have collected comments from the entrepreneurs. Let's revisit this innovation journey through their perspectives.

Lang Haijian, Vice President of AISpeech Co., Ltd. and CEO of AISpeech Overseas, stated that communication with SenseTime and 4Paradigm, who pioneered the markets in the Middle East, motivated AISpeech to explore the Saudi and Middle Eastern markets. The successful landing experiences of these AI companies were inspiring. This visit has resulted in preliminary cooperative intentions with local institutions. Leveraging leading domestic AI technology and platforms, they aim to establish an Arabic language large model and use AI large model technology to serve various industries in Saudi Arabia. Lang Haijian added that with a $1 trillion GDP and a total population of 30 million, Saudi Arabia’s politics and economy are in a period of reform, opening up, and rapid development. The government has clear plans for informatization and intelligentization under Vision 2030 and even more ambitious visions for the future. The AI industry, where AISpeech operates, is precisely in a period of rapid, government-led construction in Saudi Arabia, presenting enormous development opportunities. TusStar came up with a comprehensive itinerary and arranged meetings with key company and institution executives. The companies and government agencies visited through this trip played a guiding role for AISpeech Co., Ltd.'s landing in Saudi Arabia.

Li Fei, CEO of Zhejiang Bosheng Electronics, stated that through this research visit, they learned that products based on thermoelectric cooling technology, such as seat air conditioning systems, car steering wheel cooling systems, and car refrigerators, are particularly suitable for the Saudi market. The company plans to develop the Middle East market for such products through strategic cooperations with potential partners.

The person in-charge from Wan Yin Network Technology stated that the takeaway of this visit was understanding the pathway for the company to develop its business in Saudi Arabia – integrating its technology and services into the projects and solutions of local Chinese enterprises. Furthermore, by attending the LEAP exhibition, they established connections with companies already operating in Saudi Arabia and look forward to more cooperations with companies.

Beijing CreatUnion Information Technology went for the trip well-prepared, printing exquisite brochures. The person in-charge stated that through this trip, they learned that the space tech services market in the Middle East is still an untapped market, but it is also challenging for foreign enterprises to enter the domestic market. This Saudi trip opened the opportunity for Kaiyun United to establish preliminary contacts with Saudi national-level investment groups and research institutions. Through constructive interactions and understanding, Kaiyun United hopes to find suitable opportunities to enter Saudi Arabia’s space tech service market.

Following, TusStar will successively launch more overseas inspection programs targeting Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. We sincerely invite sci-tech innovation enterprises interested in the Saudi market and the Middle East region to actively take part! Through these programs, TusStar aims to build bridges for exchanges between multinational companies, deepen interaction between China and Middle Eastern countries in the field of technological innovation, and assist Chinese sci-tech innovation enterprises in successfully expanding overseas, contributing to the economic development and construction of the Middle East region.