LENOVO GROUP (00992) Middle East and Africa regional headquarters has started construction and will be fully operational by March next year.

On October 21st, LENOVO GROUP (00992) announced that the iconic Majdoul Tower in the capital city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where its Middle East and Africa regional headquarters is located, has officially started construction. This is another important move following the commencement of the Lenovo Saudi factory in February of this year. This signifies that Lenovo's AI strategic layout in the Middle East region is accelerating towards substantial implementation. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has regarded AI as a core strategic tool to achieve its "2030 Vision" plan, aiming to diversify its economy and modernize its society away from oil dependence. The goal is to become a global leader in AI by 2030 and establish a leading AI innovation center globally. As a core component of the emerging innovation center in Riyadh, the Lenovo Middle East and Africa regional headquarters has been given a clear AI strategic positioning. It is reported that the headquarters is planned to be fully operational by March next year, focusing on AI research and collaboration, landing intelligent solutions, and talent development in AI, becoming a central hub for Lenovo to promote AI innovation in partnership with local partners in Saudi Arabia. The location of the Majdoul Tower is not only convenient for connecting with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) subsidiaries, government departments, and global technology partners, but also facilitates deep integration into the local innovation resource network to provide critical support for the development of the Saudi AI industry cluster. It is worth noting that the construction of the regional headquarters complements Lenovo's industrial layout in Saudi Arabia efficiently. Lenovo had previously partnered with Saudi company Alat Einat in February to launch an advanced manufacturing factory covering 200,000 square meters in Riyadh's logistics zone. It is expected that after the trial production in 2026, the factory will achieve localized mass production of millions of laptops, servers, smart terminals, and other products. The new regional headquarters will form a "research and development-manufacturing-application" linkage with the factory, focusing on customized research and development and production of core hardware such as AI servers and edge computing devices, to precisely meet Saudi Arabia's AI infrastructure needs in areas such as smart cities, intelligent energy, and digital government. Lawrence Yu, head of LENOVO GROUP's Middle East and Africa regional headquarters, stated, "The official start of construction of the regional headquarters is an important moment in LENOVO GROUP's development in the Middle East and Africa region. Setting up the regional headquarters in Riyadh not only deepens our commitment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but also strengthens our cooperation with key partners to drive technological innovation and economic growth. This investment goes far beyond a new office building, as it deeply integrates LENOVO GROUP into Saudi Arabia's future development plans. We are working together with Alat Einat and the Public Investment Fund to build advanced manufacturing, research and development, and talent development capabilities to help Saudi Arabia become a leading hub for innovation, technology, and sustainable development in the region." Currently, Saudi Arabia is vigorously promoting digital transformation through its "2030 Vision," with AI placed at the core of its national strategic priority. From smart city construction to AI-optimized management of renewable energy, and the intelligent upgrade of sectors such as healthcare and education, there is a huge market demand. Lenovo's early deployment of the regional headquarters is aimed at the period of explosive growth in the Saudi AI industry, integrating global technology resources with local market demands to provide full-stack support from AI hardware to solutions for Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the headquarters will establish an AI talent exchange and training platform to nurture local AI talent through technical training, joint research and development, filling the regional talent gap. Furthermore, the current AI industry cluster in Saudi Arabia has attracted global AI giants to strategically invest. For example, in the 600 billion dollar strategic agreement signed between the United States and Saudi Arabia in 2025, AI-related investments account for more than 40%. The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) alone allocated billions of dollars to support AI startups, investing in companies like AI reasoning chip company Groq with 1.5 billion dollars, and attracting commitments from companies such as Google, Oracle, and Salesforce to invest 80 billion dollars in the Saudi AI and cloud computing fields. As an important partner of global AI giants and a mixed AI provider, Lenovo will play a crucial role in the Saudi AI industry chain, expanding its influence in the EMEA market in terms of AI.