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Tencent is also looking to add more availability zones across Asia-Pacific and Europe
In sum – what to know:
Middle East expansion under review – Tencent Cloud is actively assessing new data center builds in the region as it looks to add availability zones and deepen its local cloud presence.
Saudi Arabia anchors strategy – The company already operates two availability zones in Saudi Arabia, launched in early 2025, serving customers including gaming and food delivery firms.
Rising Chinese cloud competition – Tencent joins Alibaba and Huawei in targeting Middle Eastern cloud growth, driven partly by Chinese enterprises expanding operations in the region.
Chinese company Tencent Cloud is planning to expand its data center footprint in the Middle East as part of a broader push to grow its global cloud infrastructure. Speaking to CNBC, the company’s CEO Dowson Tong said Tencent Cloud is “actively exploring” the construction of new data centers in the region to support additional availability zones and better serve local customers.
Tong said Tencent intends to increase its investment in the Middle East and build a stronger regional partner ecosystem, though he did not disclose specific countries or firm timelines, beyond an estimated 12–18 month window. The expansion would complement Tencent Cloud’s existing presence in Saudi Arabia, where it launched a cloud region with two availability zones in early 2025.
Beyond the Middle East region, Tencent is also looking to add more availability zones across Asia-Pacific and Europe. While the company’s cloud business remains heavily concentrated in Asia, it already operates regions in North America, Europe, and South America.
Tencent is aiming to leverage its large Chinese enterprise customer base as it expands internationally, particularly as many Chinese companies pursue growth in the Middle East. Competitors such as Alibaba and Huawei have already established cloud regions in the region.
In September 2025, Alibaba Cloud had outlined new international expansion plans, announcing its first data centers in Brazil, France, and the Netherlands, with further facilities planned in Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Dubai during 2026. The new buildout is intended to expand global infrastructure coverage and support growing demand for cloud and AI services, the firm said.
The company recently reaffirmed its plan to spend $53 billion on cloud and AI over the next three years.
