Saudi’s PIF backs regional data centre development plan

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will invest in a new partnership run by the global asset management DigitalBridge Group, which is invested in the future of mobile and internet connectivity. The partners want to build data centers around the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and in Saudi Arabia.

The alliance will prioritise investments in the data center industry at first. Still, it is anticipated that it will later look into other areas of digital infrastructure, including macro towers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure. According to the partners, working with DigitalBridge will help raise Saudi Arabia’s digital infrastructure to the highest international standards in line with PIF’s business plan.

The investment aims to localise cutting-edge technologies and support knowledge transfer in order to develop and run hyperscale data centers and database servers in Saudi Arabia and the GCC region in accordance with best practices in this industry, which will help large local and international corporations conduct their business in the region more successfully.

The PIF is actively driving the reform and diversification of Saudi Arabia’s economy and helping to determine the direction of the world economy. As of the end of 2021, 72 enterprises that the PIF founded since 2017 have generated more than 500,000 jobs both directly and indirectly.