Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has provided its employees with the smart assistants Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Security Copilot, making it the first government entity in the UAE to adopt this advanced technology from Microsoft.

This is part of Dewa’s efforts to utilise innovation and the latest disruptive technologies to enhance efficiency, productivity, and quality. DEWA is among the first utilities in the world to adopt Microsoft’s Copilot.

Copilot’s features are powered by generative Artificial Intelligence technology. It enriches the employee experience, facilitates the performance of their tasks, automates workflow, and strengthens cooperation between work teams, in addition to saving effort and time. Copilot’s features can be modified to suit each employee and to meet their growing needs while ensuring smoother operations.

This also helps to keep pace with new and accelerating requirements, anticipate challenges, and turn them into promising opportunities. These features align with the highest standards of privacy and security followed by Dewa as it implements AI service protection technologies.

“We follow the wise directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to empower our employees and enable them to anticipate and shape a sustainable future. In line with the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, we seek to utilise AI and its tools in various aspects of work.

This will enhance digital transformation, elevate performance, strengthen our future readiness, and increase DEWA’s global competitiveness and leadership as one of the most innovative and distinguished utilities in the world. We take pride in our strategic partnership with Microsoft to enhance the digital transformation and elevate our graphics processing unit (GPU) capabilities as an enabler for our generative AI roadmap.

This cooperation boosts computational efficiency and data processing. It ensures innovative development and superior decision-making. Microsoft’s solutions in AI adopted by Dewa ensure compatibility and commitment to the highest data security standards. At Dewa , we are keen to continue adopting the latest advanced technologies to consolidate the happiness and confidence of all stakeholders, especially employees, whom we consider to be the backbone of all our global achievements and success,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dewa .

“We utilise innovation and the latest technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to achieve our vision to become a globally leading sustainable innovative corporation committed to achieving Net-Zero by 2050. DEWA is committed to keeping pace with accelerating technologies, as we continue to develop our world-class digital infrastructure and provide advanced and value-added digital services,” added Al Tayer.

The Copilot also supports developers and programmers in writing code and developing applications. It understands the context of the code being written, provides suggestions during the programming process, and offers tips on code formatting and error correction to enhance development. On the other hand, Security Copilot enhances the processes of analysing and responding to cybersecurity attacks to raise the efficiency and productivity of the relevant teams.

Meanwhle, throughout its 35-year history of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), Vietnam has consistently refined its institutional framework and incentive programmes to draw in and effectively manage both domestic and foreign investment resources.

The recent intensification of economic diplomacy efforts has opened up broader avenues for Vietnam to secure high-quality capital inflows into emerging industries, Vietnam News Agency reported.

In 2023, Vietnam witnessed a remarkable surge in FDI, attracting a total of US$36.6 billion, a staggering 32 percent increase compared to 2022. This impressive figure breaks down as follows: newly registered capital exceeding US$20 billion (a 62.2 percent jump), supplemented capital amounting to nearly US$7.9 billion (down 22.1 percent), and foreign investor contributions exceeding US$8.5 billion (up 65.7 percent).]]>

Meanwhile, Omani banks listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) recorded net profits of RO453.5 million in 2023, up 18.6 percent from RO382.3 million in 2022.

According to the Oman News Agency, the banking sector benefited from several local economic indicators in 2023, including economic growth, foreign trade, investment, government revenues, and spending. These factors contributed to the recovery of several economic sectors.

The preliminary financial results showed that all seven banks listed on MSX posted higher profits. Bank Muscat topped the list with RO212.4 million, up from RO200.7 million in 2022. Sohar International came in second with RO70.3 million, up from RO34.9 million in 2022. National Bank of Oman followed with RO58 million, up 20.3 percent from RO48.2 million in 2022.

The total assets of Omani banks listed on MSX rose to RO38.8 billion at the end of 2023, up 14.9 percent from RO33.7 billion at the end of 2022.

WAM