Barclays Pursues Saudi Banking License and Forecasts $1 Delivery Costs
Barclays CEO CS Venkatakrishnan said the bank is pursuing a Saudi Arabia banking license for Middle East expansion, noting slight IPO delays for SpaceX. Barclays research forecasts autonomous robots and drones could cut food delivery costs to $1 per order by 2035, creating up to $16bn in profit.
1. Middle East Expansion Strategy
CEO CS Venkatakrishnan confirmed Barclays remains committed to the Middle East, actively pursuing a banking license in Saudi Arabia to tap into regional markets. He stated that ongoing conflict in Iran may only slightly delay planned IPOs for companies like SpaceX.
2. Autonomous Delivery Cost Forecast
In a new report, Barclays projected that autonomous robots and drones could reduce food delivery costs from $5–7 per order to as little as $1 by 2035. The research estimates these savings could unlock about $16bn in annual platform profit, with early benefits accruing to DoorDash, Meituan and Uber as usage climbs from under 1% today to around 10% by 2035.