Tencent Cloud to open internet data centre hub in Bahrain

Tencent Cloud has selected Bahrain as the location of its first internet data center hub for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with the facility expected to go live by the end of the year.

Tencent Cloud and the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which aims to underpin the growth of the Kingdom of Bahrain's Internet Data Center Development efforts. It also marks Tencent Cloud's first efforts to build public cloud infrastructure in MENA.

"While the local government in Bahrain has been making significant efforts to grow the local internet data center industry, Tencent Cloud is excited to collaborate with Bahrain EDB as part of our ongoing efforts to ramp up the global internet data center landscape," comments Tencent Cloud International senior vice president Poshu Yeung.

"We will launch all necessary steps to set up a brand-new internet data center in Bahrain to provide better coverage all over the Middle East and North African regions along the Belt and Road, fully supporting Bahrain's 'Cloud-First' strategy.

The memorandum of understanding includes the aim of getting the data center live by the end of the year, as well as the promotion of Tencent Cloud, and local training initiatives to created skilled technology talent.

Bahrain Economic Development Board chief executive H.E. Khalid Humaidan says that the Board is a 'leader' in the cloud, innovation, and technology services.

The Kingdom first adopted a nationwide 'Cloud First' policy in 2017, which aims to drive cloud adoption across state entities and reduce IT costs by up to 90%.

"We are confident that Tencent will be able to leverage on the Kingdom's regional connectivity, local talent, and business-friendly environment to expand their services and reach clients across the region," adds Humaidan.

Bahrain Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, H.E. Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, says, "This is an important milestone in Bahrain's journey to become the MENA region's cloud and data center hub and I commend the EDB for their ceaseless efforts in developing the partnership with Tencent and ensuring that Bahrain is a favoured destination for investment.

"Tencent joins leading global cloud giants in setting up in Bahrain which will drive massive growth in data traffic towards MENA. Moreover, the launch of the new data center stands to create a clustering effect as other global providers turn their attention to the increasingly attractive region, with Bahrain positioned as the destination of choice with proactive initiatives such as the Government's 'Cloud-First' policy and nationwide 5G.

Tencent Cloud currently offers 60 availability zones worldwide and operates in 27 regions.