Tag Archives: HSBC

BuzzAR is working with the Saudi Tourism Authority to integrate BuzzAR’s AI tour guide, BAE (Buzz AI Experience) to digitalise the country’s hospitality industry. With US$1.16 million from HSBC, BuzzAR has 4 times their revenue in Saudi Arabia and is on track to bring in US$3.2 billion of tourism dollars to Saudi Arabia by 2026. 100 million tourists are targeted for 2030 and Saudi Arabia is facing a shortage of registered tour guides. With BAE, tour guides can handle bigger groups, target a wider audience, and free up their bandwidth to further personalise services and enhance the tourist experience. BuzzAR acquired US$1.16 million through the HSBC New Economy Fund to catalyse their expansion. BuzzAR was founded by Bell Beh and Ken Lim in 2018 and has hit significant milestones since, including a US$3.8 million fundraise in 2022, and the launch of BAE, the world’s first AI travel companion in April this year. BuzzAR saw the MENA region as having the potential to be a prime tourist destination and began expanding into the market in 2022. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) Vision 2030 aims to diversify the economy, with a US$64b investment plan geared to help the entertainment sector contribute more than US$23b, or 3% of GDP by 2030. “BuzzAR is committed to digitalising the Saudi Arabian hospitality industry through BAE. The company has been breaking boundaries since their inception, and we are impressed with their expansion plans. Their track record in finding success in other markets makes them the ideal hospitality tech partner for companies and governments in the MENA region. I expect them to scale rapidly given the huge growth in tourism in the region.” says Ian Wilson, CEO …

Oman Air has partnered with HSBC Oman on a unique and innovative international payments process, which will dramatically increase efficiency and security. Via a centralised treasury hub in Oman, HSBC’s Global Disbursement solution, developed as a bespoke service for Oman Air, will deliver simultaneous multiple currency payments and an improved track and trace function for every transaction. The new service enables Oman Air to process foreign currency payments through a single bank account, using HSBC’s extensive global network and transparent FX rates. This reduces dependency on other third party banks, reducing the costs of processing these payment types and the hours worked in doing so. This strengthens the relationship with HSBC as Oman Air’s bank of choice for international payments. “Oman Air continues to invest in innovative financial solutions as a crucial component of our success as a truly global airline,” said Oman Air Chief Executive Officer Eng. Abdulaziz Al Raisi. “HSBC’s Global Disbursement solution provides us with simplicity, expediency, and security. We are confident that this partnership will enable us to achieve a more streamlined international payments procedure and ultimately, enhance our guest experience,” Eng. Abdulaziz continued. “At HSBC Oman, we are committed to innovating in our technology to make banking easier, more accessible, and more secure for our clients. Our Global Disbursement solution is designed to simplify the cross border payment process by reducing costs, minimizing risk and improving transparency. Our Global Payments Solutions Team has a proven record of providing clients across the MENAT Region with a comprehensive suite of market leading, innovative solutions and products to help them do business every day,” said Melika Betley, CEO of HSBC Oman. The Global Disbursement solution will introduce significant …