Saudi Arabia – Discussions are taking place between Saudi Aramco and Google parent Alphabet Inc to jointly build a technology hub in the Kingdom – a Saudi Arabia Silicon Valley, reported the Wall Street Journal. A joint venture between Alphabet and Aramco could help Saudi Aramco expand into the United States, a goal for the oil company.

The talks have included Alphabet Chief Executive Larry Page and have been encouraged by Prince Mohammed, who is enamored with Silicon Valley and wants to bring more tech expertise to the kingdom. A data-center region in Saudi Arabia could potentially help Google win business from oil-industry customers that are looking to shift their computing operations to the cloud. The costs for such centers can run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

This alliance between two of the world’s biggest companies could help bolster the development of the technology sector in Saudi Arabia, which is a major part of the 2030 vision - to wean the country off its reliance on oil.

As part of the potential joint venture, Alphabet will help Aramco establish data centers within the oil-rich kingdom. Aramco is in the middle of planning for an initial public offering that the Saudi government has pegged for this year. The size of the potential venture and where Aramco would list its shares (which could turn into the world’s largest publicly traded company) is unclear.

Alphabet rivals Apple Inc and Amazon Inc are in licensing discussions with Riyadh on investing in Saudi Arabia. Amazon is close to finalizing a $1 billion deal to build three data centers in Saudi Arabia. The deal is expected to be announced during a trip to the US by Prince Mohammed early this year.

Source: Wall Street Journal