Key takeaways:
- Saudi Aramco and SBI Holdings of Japan are contemplating collaborating on initiatives related to semiconductor manufacturing and digital asset investing.
- They might locate firms in the Japanese digital asset space that are interested in growing to Saudi Arabia and starting semiconductor manufacturing operations there.
The state-owned oil company of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco, and the Japanese financial services business SBI Holdings are contemplating collaborating on initiatives related to semiconductor manufacture and digital asset investing.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation was signed by the two parties, which calls for creating SBI Middle East in Riyadh as a base of operations for the area.
The Memorandum of Understanding, signed on December 7, states that SBI and Saudi Aramco intend to explore joint ventures in the domain of digital assets and joint investment in each other’s digital asset portfolios.
They might locate firms in the Japanese digital asset space that are interested in growing to Saudi Arabia and starting semiconductor manufacturing operations there. Further to:
“The scope of the alliance may be expanded upon agreement between the Company and Aramco.”
After Walmart, Saudi Aramco is the second-biggest company in the world regarding revenue. The investments made by Saudi Aramco to enhance its supply chain were mentioned in the MoU.
Legal organizations in Saudi Arabia do not recognize cryptocurrency despite the government’s strong interest in Web3. The alliance between Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing, located in Taiwan, and SBI Holdings was also emphasized.
In an effort to expand its footprint in the Middle East, SBI Holdings has taken this latest action. In November, it established a joint venture with the fintech investment division of Standard Chartered, a British bank, to establish an investment company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the aim of investing in various areas such as tokenization, consumer payments, market infrastructure, risk management and compliance tools, and the metaverse.
SBI Holdings and UAE-based TradeFinex joined in September to establish a joint venture with a Japanese base to localize TradeFinex’s corporate blockchain, XDC Network.
As a partner of Ripple since 2018, SBI Holdings is the company’s biggest external shareholder. Subject to regulatory approval, SBI Holdings and Circle established an MoU in late November that will increase USD Coin circulation and Web3 services in Japan.
