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Hong Kong Strengthens Ties with Saudi Arabia as Samsung Electronics Reports Record Profits

Hong Kong signs a $1 billion fund agreement with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, while Samsung Electronics posts a 19-fold profit surge amid rising AI chip demand.

Jul 9, 2026, 11:52 AM Nikkei Asia

Hong Kongperson Saudi Arabiaperson Samsung Electronicsperson Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fundtopic China AItopic Hong Kong Mideastperson South Korean President Lee Jae Myungtopic Middle Eastperson SK Hynixtopic Hong Kong Strengthens Tiestopic Samsung Electronics Reports Record Profitstopic LEAP Easttopic

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Hong Kong is deepening its economic engagement with the Middle East following the Asia debut of the Riyadh-based LEAP East technology conference in the city. The event featured over 450 exhibitors, primarily from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia, showcasing innovations in biotech, robotics, and software.

A significant development from this engagement is a memorandum of understanding signed in late 2024 between Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. This agreement targets a joint $1 billion fund to support Hong Kong enterprises expanding into the Saudi market.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics reported a blockbuster second quarter, with operating profit soaring more than 19 times year-on-year to 89.4 trillion won ($58.4 billion). This surge is attributed to strong demand for memory chips driven by artificial intelligence applications. This performance comes shortly after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung announced an ambitious 800 trillion won public-private investment plan with Samsung and SK Hynix to expand domestic chipmaking capacity.

In related tech industry news, ByteDance has introduced a reimbursement scheme allowing engineers to expense personal subscriptions to the Claude AI platform, although it does not facilitate direct access to Claude, according to employees.

These developments highlight growing technological and economic collaborations across Asia and the Middle East, alongside robust growth in the semiconductor sector.

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Overview: This article shows limited framing pressure in the available source text. Hong Kong signs a $1 billion fund agreement with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, while Samsung Electronics posts a 19-fold profit surge amid rising AI chip demand.

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