Chinese tech giant Tencent plots Middle East cloud expansion as spending in the region booms

Core Viewpoint - Tencent is planning to expand its data center footprint in the Middle East to enhance its cloud computing business outside of China [1][2]. Group 1: Expansion Plans - Tencent aims to increase the number of "availability zones" for its cloud services over the next 12 to 18 months across Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East [2]. - The company is actively exploring the construction of data centers in the Middle East to serve cloud customers [2][3]. Group 2: Investment Strategy - Tencent intends to increase its investment in the Middle East and establish a stronger partnership network, although specific timelines and countries for the availability zones have not been disclosed [3]. - The expansion aligns with a trend in the region where countries are attracting significant investments from tech giants to develop AI data centers and computing infrastructure [3][4].