The kingdom has injected hundreds of billions of dollars into an economic plan, known as ‘Vision 2030’
Saudi Arabia has attracted more than $9 billion in future technology investment, including from US giants Microsoft MSFT.O and Oracle Corp ORCL.N, a government minister said on Monday. Saudi Minister of Communication and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha has claimed that Microsoft will invest $2.1 billion in a global cloud while Oracle has pledged $1.5 billion to build a new cloud in Riyadh.
“These investments…will strengthen the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s position as the largest digital market in the Middle East and North Africa,” Alswaha said at LEAP, an international technology forum taking place in Riyadh.
Alswaha did not give details on the timing. Oracle told Archyde.com that the investment would be made over several years.
Saudi officials have pressured international companies to invest in the kingdom and move their regional headquarters to Riyadh to benefit from government contracts.
The kingdom has pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into an economic plan, known as “Vision 2030”, led by its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman led by its de facto ruler. But it is struggling to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), one of the pillars of Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy away from oil.
The minister said Chinese company Huawei HWT.UL will also invest $400 million in cloud computing infrastructure for its services in Saudi Arabia and another region in partnership with oil giant Aramco 2222.SE.