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China's shopping blitz sets new record. Online shoppers in the Middle East are about to get more choice. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and a leading Dubai property developer are joining forces to launch a new platform called Noon, based in the Saudi capital Riyadh. The company will start with an initial $1 billion investment split equally between Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and private investors from the Gulf led by Mohamed Alabaar. He is chairman of Emaar Properties, the developer behind the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa. Alabaar told CNNMoney the opportunity was a no-brainer. "There are 350 million Arabs. Demographics are really interesting. It's the right demographics. They are more digital than any other population in the world," he said. "E-commerce [here] is very small... In the region there ought to be a big player, big capital, long term, the best people in the world and customer focus."