IMF sees Saudi inflation contained at 2.8% as GDP growth hits decade-high

JEDDAH: Saudi-based Al Salem Johnson Controls wants to expand operations in Uzbekistan, as the country offers a lot of opportunities for private companies, according to a top official.

Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the fourth meeting of Saudi-Uzbek Business Council in Jeddah on Wednesday, Mohanad Al-Shaikh, CEO of Al Salem Johnson Controls, said there are a lot of good synergies between Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan in various sectors.

“Uzbekistan is focusing on agriculture, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals. And I think we do have the base to supply many of those industries out of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with the accumulated knowledge and experiences we developed here,” he said.

Al-Shaikh added: “I’m talking mainly about our field, HVAC, industrial refrigeration, the controls, fire suppressions and detections, systems.”

Talking about the opportunities in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector, the CEO noted that Saudi Arabia has the expertise to cooperate and help the knowledge transfer.

“Johnson Controls does have an office in Uzbekistan, and it’s mainly on the industrial refrigeration side. But I would like to see Saudi-made products exported to Uzbekistan. That’s where I see the wonders of opportunities taking place,” he added.

Al-Shaikh said that Saudi Arabia is the second largest market for Johnson Controls globally.

“Saudi Arabia is considered to be the second or third largest operations globally (for Johnson Controls). And we’re talking about a $40 billion company. We would be honored to be supporting Saudi Arabia and that is allowing us to build the right knowledge and expertise in our field,” he further noted.