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posted by martyb on Saturday February 03 2018, @11:03PM   Printer-friendly
from the AirConditioners++ dept.

Saudi Aramco and Alphabet/Google may cooperate on a "technology hub" within Saudi Arabia, or at least build some data centers:

Saudi Aramco, the world's largest energy company, and Google parent Alphabet have entered discussions to create a technology hub in Saudi Arabia, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The kingdom is embarking upon an ambitious plan, led by the 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to diversify the nation's oil-dependent economy. The foundation of the effort is a plan to create a huge sovereign wealth fund, underwritten by selling shares in the state-owned Aramco.

The initial public offering, which could happen this year, is expected to be the world's biggest-ever share sale. Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser recently told CNBC his company is ready for the IPO this year, but is waiting on the government to choose an international list venue.

Alphabet and Aramco have discussed forming a joint venture that would build data centers around the kingdom, sources familiar with the matter tell the Journal. It remains to be seen which customers the data centers would serve and how large the joint venture would be, but it could be listed in the Saudi stock exchange, the sources said.

Data centers are just a "tangible" area of cooperation, not necessarily the entire purpose of the joint venture. Saudi Arabia has talked about building a $500+ billion "megacity" that would be technology-focused.

Meanwhile, slightly-less-of-a-billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has been put back to work:

Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is back on the job as chairman of global investment firm Kingdom Holding after being released from detention in an anti-corruption campaign, the company said on Thursday.

Prince Alwaleed, one of the country's top international investors, was freed on Saturday, nearly three months after being taken into custody along with dozens of senior officials and businessmen on the orders of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Most detainees have been released, after settlements secured just over $100 billion from members of the elite, the attorney general has said, without providing details.

Also at the Financial Times.

Related: Saudi Arabia to Lift Ban on Online VoIP and Video Calling Services
Saudi Prince Predicts Demise for Bitcoin
Robot Granted "Citizenship" in Saudi Arabia, Sparking Backlash
Saudi Arabia Announced Plans to Extract Uranium for Domestic Nuclear Power Program
Saudi Arabia Arrests 11 Princes and Many Ministers for Alleged Corruption


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  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 04 2018, @12:19AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 04 2018, @12:19AM (#632722)

    Look, we all know civilization will come full circle. The world's largest data center will be built in Oldupai Gorge, and machines will evolve genuine intelligence in the exact same spot where modern humans evolved.

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