Smart city tech could add $6.9 billion to Dubai's economy
Smart cities are no longer just about impressive technology. They are becoming serious investments capable of generating measurable economic returns.
Dr Matthew Marson, Managing Director of Technology Consulting at JLL, joins AB Majlis to explain why smart city technology could add $6.9 billion to Dubai’s economy and almost $16bn to Riyadh’s. He also explains why AI-powered energy systems, connected transport and smarter construction could become a new infrastructure asset class.
30 Sept 2026
The billion-dollar battle for your attention
The Gulf has one of the youngest, most digitally engaged populations in the world, and advertisers are racing to understand what actually captures their attention. In this episode, Arabian Business explores the rise of the “attention economy”, why platforms like Snapchat are seeing renewed momentum, and how changing consumer behaviour across Saudi Arabia and the UAE is changing the game – from advertising and media strategy to the very business of influence itself.
17 Sept 2026
Why the Middle East is moving faster on infrastructure | In conversation with Siemens’ Hakan Ozdemir
SPONSORED - The Middle East is investing heavily in smarter cities, power grids, data centres and AI-enabled infrastructure. According to Siemens’ latest Infrastructure Transition Monitor, the region is also showing greater urgency than global peers when it comes to transforming the systems that power its economies.
Hakan Ozdemir, CEO of Siemens Smart Infrastructure in the Middle East and Siemens Qatar, joins Tala Michel Issa on AB Majlis to discuss what that transformation looks like in practice.
They explore the rise of industrial AI, the growing strain on electricity grids, the extraordinary energy requirements of AI and data centres, and how digital technology could make buildings and critical infrastructure more autonomous, efficient and resilient.
Ozdemir also explains why the next stage of the Middle East’s infrastructure boom will depend not only on investment, but on cybersecurity, skills, public-private partnerships and transferring technological know-how to local teams.
The Siemens Infrastructure Transition Monitor: Middle East 2026 found that 66% of regional executives want the global energy transition to accelerate significantly, while 62% expect AI to reshape infrastructure operations within the next three years.
Download the full Siemens report: https://www.siemens.com/itm2026-me (https://www.siemens.com/itm2026-me)
This episode of AB Majlis was produced in partnership with Siemens.
Who has been a guest on AB Majlis
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Saygin Yalcin
Haider Ali Khan
Khaled Nuseibeh
Roman Shimansky
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