Saudi Telecom partners with Chinese tech firm Alibaba on cloud services

RIYADH, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has entered a joint venture with Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group to launch a cloud services company in Riyadh, with an initial investment of 238 million U.S. dollars.

The new company Alibaba Cloud was also formed in partnership with the Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence, the Saudi Information Technology Company, and eWTP Arabia Technology Innovation, the Saudi Press Agency reported Sunday.

The Saudi public-listed STC said the firm came in response to an increase in demand for cloud computing services and solutions in the region.

It aims to help local companies and institutions digitize their operation by high-security standards, according to the telecom provider.

STC will finance 492 million Saudi riyals (about 131 million U.S. dollars), or 55 percent of the investment.

The Alibaba-backed investment company eWTP will hold a 27 percent stake, and Alibaba Cloud will come on board with a 10 percent stake.

The Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence, and the Saudi Information Technology Company, both owned by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund, will hold 4 percent stakes each.