Chinese technology group Alibaba announced plans to enlarge its data centre facilities in the United Arab Emirates over the next 12 months as part of an international cloud and artificial intelligence expansion. According to details shared at the annual Apsara Conference in Hangzhou, the UAE buildout is designed to meet growing regional demand for enterprise AI models and localized computing infrastructure.
Alibaba Chief Executive Eddie Wu stated that the group is targeting more than 20 gigawatts of global data centre capacity by 2032 to support generative AI workloads. Alongside the UAE project, the company announced new cloud regions in Turkey, Finland, and the Netherlands, capacity expansions in France and Germany, and unveiled a new proprietary processor called Zhenwu V900 to support AI models scaling up to 10 trillion parameters.
Separately, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) announced the programme for the fifth edition of Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) 2026, scheduled to take place from 7 to 10 December 2026 under the patronage of Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. More than 300 global financial leaders representing over USD 61 trillion in assets have confirmed attendance for the event, which will expand to 75 events across eight stages.
ADFW 2026 will feature dedicated forums and dialogues focused on cross-border business and investment partnerships with China, South Korea, the European Union, and the United States. ADGM Chairman Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi stated that the platform aims to connect international capital communities, with confirmed institutional partners including China's Yicai, the Arab Monetary Fund, the International Monetary Fund, UBS, and Standard Chartered.
Sources
- The Straits Times · 2026-09-25
