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Oracle Opens 2nd Public Cloud Region in Saudi Arabia to Meet Growing Demand for AI

Oracle is looking to capitalize on the growing demand for cloud and AI to launch three public could regions in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Oracle is looking to capitalize on the growing demand for cloud and AI to launch three public could regions in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Oracle Opens 2nd Public Cloud Region in Saudi Arabia to Meet Growing Demand for AI

Oracle is looking to capitalize on the growing demand for cloud and AI to launch three public could regions in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Oracle is looking to capitalize on the growing demand for cloud and AI to launch three public could regions in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Oracle on Tuesday announced the opening of its second public cloud region in Saudi Arabia to meet the rapidly growing demand for its AI and cloud services.

“The new Riyadh cloud region will help public and private sector organizations migrate all types of workloads to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), giving them access to a wide range of cloud services to modernize their applications and innovate with data, analytics, and AI,” the US company said in a statement.

Center3 is the host partner for the new Oracle Cloud Riyadh Region.

As part of Oracle’s distributed cloud strategy and Oracle’s $1.5 billion investment to expand cloud infrastructure capabilities in the Kingdom, the new region will help boost Saudi Arabia’s AI economy, which is expected to reach $135.2 billion by 2030, the statement said.

The Oracle Cloud Riyadh Region joins the existing Oracle Cloud Jeddah Region and the planned Oracle Cloud Region in NEOM to extend Oracle’s footprint in Saudi Arabia, it added.

“The opening of Oracle’s new cloud region in Riyadh reflects the Kingdom’s continuous efforts in boosting the digital economy based on modern technologies and innovation,” said Eng. Haytham Alohali, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. “This step will significantly enable international and local companies to achieve innovation and promote the adoption of AI and cloud computing technologies in various sectors, which enhances Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness at the regional and international level.”

For his part, Richard Smith, executive vice president and general manager in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa Cloud Infrastructure at Oracle, said: “With the rapid expansion of our cloud footprint in Saudi Arabia, Oracle is committed to helping the country achieve its goal of developing one of the strongest digital economies in the world.”

“As part of our wider investment in cloud capabilities in Saudi Arabia, the Oracle Cloud Riyadh Region will help accelerate adoption of cloud and AI technologies to boost innovation across all sectors of the Saudi economy, while helping organizations addressing local data hosting requirements,” he added.

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Russia's Central Bank Holds Off on Interest Rate Hike

People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
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Russia's Central Bank Holds Off on Interest Rate Hike

People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russia's central bank has left its benchmark interest rate at 21%, holding off on further increases as it struggles to snuff out inflation fueled by the government's spending on the war against Ukraine.
The decision comes amid criticism from influential business figures, including tycoons close to the Kremlin, that high rates are putting the brakes on business activity and the economy.
According to The Associated Press, the central bank said in a statement that credit conditions had tightened “more than envisaged” by the October rate hike that brought the benchmark to its current record level.
The bank said it would assess the need for any future increases at its next meeting and that inflation was expected to fall to an annual 4% next year from its current 9.5%
Factories are running three shifts making everything from vehicles to clothing for the military, while a labor shortage is driving up wages and fat enlistment bonuses are putting more rubles in people's bank accounts to spend. All that is driving up prices.
On top of that, the weakening Russian ruble raises the prices of imported goods like cars and consumer electronics from China, which has become Russia's biggest trade partner since Western sanctions disrupted economic relations with Europe and the US.
High rates can dampen inflation but also make it more expensive for businesses to get the credit they need to operate and invest.
Critics of the central bank rates and its Governor Elvira Nabiullina have included Sergei Chemezov, the head of state-controlled defense and technology conglomerate Rostec, and steel magnate Alexei Mordashov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin opened his annual news conference on Thursday by saying the economy is on track to grow by nearly 4% this year and that while inflation is “an alarming sign," wages have risen at the same rate and that "on the whole, this situation is stable and secure.”
He acknowledged there had been criticism of the central bank, saying that “some experts believe that the Central Bank could have been more effective and could have started using certain instruments earlier.”
Nabiullina said in November that while the economy is growing, “the rise in prices for the vast majority of goods and services shows that demand is outrunning the expansion of economic capacity and the economy’s potential.”
Russia's military spending is enabled by oil exports, which have shifted from Europe to new customers in India and China who aren't observing sanctions such as a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil sales.