By Gabby Chen
(JW Insights) Apr 10 -- Chinese tech giant Huawei is looking to make Riyadh its headquarters for the Middle East amid a push by the Saudi government to position itself as a regional business hub and growing diplomatic and business ties with China, reported Bloomberg on April 9, quoting people familiar with the matter.
Huawei, which already has offices in the Saudi capital and other cities across the Middle East, is in talks with Riyadh authorities to upgrade its presence in the country. The company currently has headquarters for the region in Dubai and Bahrain. A final decision hasn't yet been made by Huawei, the people said.
Saudi Arabia announced that from the beginning of 2024 government entities will be restricted from doing business with foreign firms that don't have regional headquarters in the country, as it looks to limit leakage out of its economy and attract foreign investment. Huawei has been boosting its presence in Saudi Arabia even as the US pushes allies to avoid the Chinese technology firm, said the Bloomberg report.
Government officials said about 80 companies had applied for licenses to move their headquarters to Riyadh at the end of last year.
Meanwhile, ties between Saudi Arabia and China have been growing. After a visit to Riyadh last year by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the two countries signed $50 billion worth of agreements, the Bloomberg report noted.
In addition, Huawei is accelerating its expansion into new markets as Europe increases its scrutiny of the company under pressure from the US.
At the Mobile World Congress 2023 on February 27 in Barcelona of Spain, Huawei signed several agreements with operators from Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and a range of African countries.
The agreements include a deal with leading Saudi Arabian telecommunications operator Zain KSA to assist in building the operator's 5.5G mobile network. On March 4, Huawei partnered with Qatari multinational telecommunications company Ooredoo to provide solutions for Ooredoo's mobile network. In addition, Huawei signed a memorandum of understanding on the "GUIDE to Future Telco" with Indonesian operator Telkomsel, said the Bloomberg report.
