Chinese tech giant Tencent is gearing up to significantly enhance its cloud computing operations across Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, signaling a strategic move to escalate ‘massive new investments’ geared towards data storage solutions.
An insider report has unveiled the company’s ambitious initiatives, which are currently in the early stages of development. Dowson Tong, the senior executive vice president, indicated that the momentum for these investments will accelerate in the coming months.
“We are going to announce more throughout the year. We see a lot of potential in this market so will be increasing our investment,” Tong stated, suggesting a robust growth trajectory for the company’s regional footprint.
Initially, Tencent’s cloud services will cater to the entertainment and gaming sectors, providing a robust digital infrastructure. This initiative is expected to pave the way for advanced computing capabilities tailored for artificial intelligence applications.
Competitors in the region have already made significant strides. Last year, Alibaba, in partnership with Saudi Telecom Company, introduced Alibaba Cloud following a substantial $238 million investment in cloud infrastructure. In a similar vein, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced their intention to establish a cloud region in Saudi Arabia by 2026, accompanied by a long-term investment plan of $5.3 billion. Google also marked its presence with the launch of a Saudi cloud region in November 2023.