Tencent Cloud is planning to expand its data centre presence in the Middle East as part of a broader push to grow its cloud business beyond China. Speaking to CNBC, Tencent Cloud CEO Dowson Tong said the company intends to increase the number of availability zones for its cloud services over the next 12 to 18 months, with the Middle East identified as a key investment priority.
While Tencent Cloud will also scale its footprint across Asia Pacific and Europe, Tong highlighted plans to deepen investment in the Middle East and build a stronger regional partner ecosystem. Specific timelines and investment figures were not disclosed. Tencent Cloud currently operates one availability zone in Saudi Arabia, serving customers including international food delivery firm Keeta and several gaming companies.
The announcement comes amid a surge of data centre activity across the region. Ooredoo’s data centre spin-off Syntys recently expanded its footprint by acquiring two additional facilities in Qatar, adding to its portfolio of 26 active data centres across Qatar, Tunisia, Kuwait, Oman, and Iraq. In Bahrain, Batelco by Beyon has partnered with Qareeb Data Centers to launch what is expected to be the country’s first edge data centre.
Saudi Arabia is also accelerating large-scale infrastructure development, with stc Group forming a joint venture with PIF-backed AI company Humain to build AI-focused data centres. Humain has since secured a financing framework of up to $1.2 billion with Saudi Arabia’s National Infrastructure Fund to support AI and digital infrastructure expansion.
Regional governments continue to position AI and digital infrastructure as national priorities. At GITEX Global 2025, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla Bin Touq stressed that AI should be treated as a core pillar of government spending, while UAE-based telco du unveiled its AI Park in Dubai, featuring liquid-cooled hyperscale data centres with planned capacity of up to 1GW.
According to consulting firm Kearney, the Middle East data centre market is set for rapid growth, driven by national digital strategies such as Saudi Vision 2030, UAE Vision 2031, New Kuwait 2035, and Digital Oman 2030. The firm expects the number of data centres in the region to double between 2025 and 2030.
