Japanese financial group SBI Holdings announced on December 7th that it has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Saudi Arabian national oil company, Saudi Aramco, to explore potential business alliances in the digital asset and semiconductor fields.
According to a press release, SBI Holdings and Saudi Aramco will consider joint investments using their respective investment portfolios related to digital assets, and will identify Japanese startups in the digital asset field that are looking to expand business into Saudi Arabia, providing assistance for market entry and growth.
Additionally, SBI Holdings and Saudi Aramco plan to initiate various specific projects related to investments in the semiconductor field, including establishing factories in Japan and Saudi Arabia.
SBI Holdings stated that the collaboration may expand further, and the SBI Group also plans to establish “SBI Middle East” in the Saudi capital Riyadh as a base for business expansion in the Middle East region.
In the statement, SBI Holdings mentioned ongoing collaborations with local partners in the Middle East to establish investment funds in the region, as well as the establishment of a semiconductor factory in Japan through a partnership with the Taiwanese wafer foundry company Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC).
This is the latest move by SBI Holdings to expand its business in the Middle East. According to previous reports by Zombit, in November of this year, SBI Holdings partnered with SC Ventures, the venture capital arm of Standard Chartered Bank, to establish a joint venture company in the United Arab Emirates, intending to provide the institution with a capital of $100 million and plan investments in various sectors of the crypto field.