Alphabet, Aramco discussing possibility of Saudi Arabian tech hub, WSJ reports

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing people familiar with the matter, Alphabet is in talks with state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco over the possibility of making Saudi Arabia a key regional technology hub.

This would include the construction of a number of data centres across the Kingdom, WSJ reports, however, it remains to be seen how large such a deal would be.

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If the talks, that have apparently been ongoing for a number of months, come to fruition, the deal would likely benefit both parties:

Saudi Arabia has been looking to diversify its operations as a result of its current dependency on oil, whilst Alphabet will be looking to compete with the likes of Apple and Amazon in the region – two firm that are also in investment talks with Saudi Arabia, according to a Reuters report last month.

Any of these potential deals could be announced during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the United States this year - the figure behind the country’s Vision 2030 that looks to drive Saudi Arabia’s economic overhaul, particularly with a greater focus on the technology sector.