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Saudi Arabian oil company partners with SBI to explore digital assets and semiconductor investments

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Saudi Arabian oil company partners with SBI to explore digital assets and semiconductor investments

Saudi Aramco and SBI Group announced a collaboration on December 6, 2023, to explore investment opportunities in digital assets and the semiconductor sector.

Standard Chartered Bank's venture capital arm, SBI Holdings, launched a $100 million cryptocurrency fund in the Arab world.

Saudi Aramco, SBI Explore Digital Assets, Semiconductor Investments

Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil producer with significant cash reserves, and SBI Group, one of Japan's largest financial groups, are exploring potential collaborations as reported by Ledger Insights. Potential areas of cooperation between the two include:

  • Joint development and investment in digital assets and semiconductor projects.

  • Exploration of potential opportunities in digital asset trading and infrastructure.

  • Research on the relevant applications of digital assets in Saudi Aramco's business.

  • SBI plans to establish its Middle East business headquarters "SBI Middle East" in Riyadh.

SBI Facilitates Japanese Startups to the Arab World

The collaboration is expected to aid both parties in their development in the digital assets field and create new investment opportunities.

SBI specifically mentioned its interest in expanding the business of Japanese digital asset startups in Saudi Arabia and will provide support in this regard.

SBI has been actively promoting digital assets and venture capital funds since this year:

  • Ripple and Japan's SBI jointly funded new company to expand remittance services to the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia

  • SBI Holdings launched a billion-yen fund focusing on fintech, AI, and Web3 startups

  • SBI Holdings partnered with Circle to introduce a new era of stablecoins in Japan: introducing USDC, banking services, and Web3 technology

Saudi Aramco has also been actively involved in blockchain projects, such as the blockchain oil trading platform VAKT, smart contract solution Data Gumbo, and blockchain qualification verification system project IR4LAB.