Saudi Arabia is seeking to cement its position as a regional technology manufacturing hub as Lenovo prepares to begin commercial production at its new Riyadh plant in late 2026. The facility, Lenovo’s largest outside China, will be the company’s first worldwide to manufacture laptops, desktops, servers and Motorola smartphones at a single site. It will serve markets across the Middle East, Türkiye and Africa. Lenovo unveiled its first laptop manufactured in Saudi Arabia at the LEAP 2026 technology conference in Riyadh, marking a shift in its partnership with Alat, a company owned by the Public Investment Fund, from investment and capacity-building to the domestic production of technology devices. Salman Faqeeh, Lenovo’s vice president and general manager for Saudi Arabia, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the laptop represented an important milestone for the company. He said large-scale production was expected to begin in late 2026. “The Riyadh facility has been designed to produce Lenovo’s product portfolio over time, including PCs, desktop computers, servers and Motorola smartphones,” Faqeeh said. “Our Riyadh facility is Lenovo’s first worldwide to produce all four product categories and is also the company’s largest factory outside China.” Faqeeh said Lenovo remained on track to begin large-scale commercial production in late 2026. The company is focused on developing a world-class manufacturing ecosystem that supports Saudi Arabia’s industrial ambitions, serves regional markets and connects with Lenovo’s global supply chain, he added. Lenovo’s largest plant outside China The Riyadh facility has been designed to produce a broad range of Lenovo products, including laptops, desktops, servers and Motorola smartphones. It will be the first plant in Lenovo’s global manufacturing network to bring production across all four categories together at a single site, as well as the company’s largest factory outside China. The facility is being built on a site covering about 200,000 square meters at Riyadh Integrated, operated by the Special Integrated Logistics Zone near King Khalid International Airport. The project is part of a strategic partnership between Lenovo and Alat aimed at developing an industrial and technology manufacturing base serving the Middle East, Türkiye and Africa. Lenovo officially opened its regional headquarters in Riyadh in April 2026 as part of its plans to expand its manufacturing and research and development operations. Saudi Arabia as a manufacturing and innovation hub Faqeeh said Saudi Arabia was becoming increasingly important to Lenovo’s global strategy, not only as a regional market but also as a center for leadership, innovation, talent development, and manufacturing. The company has established its Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa regional headquarters in Riyadh and is expanding its innovation initiatives and local talent development programs. Saudi Arabia will play a larger role in Lenovo’s global manufacturing, innovation, and supply-chain network in the coming years, Faqeeh said, citing accelerating investment in the Kingdom’s technology and industrial sectors. Growing demand for AI solutions Faqeeh said Lenovo was seeing growing demand in Saudi Arabia and the wider region for artificial intelligence-enabled devices, infrastructure, and services as organizations moved beyond experimentation towards deploying the technology more broadly. Government, financial services, energy, manufacturing, retail, education, healthcare, and sports were among the sectors driving that growth, supported by heavy investment in digital infrastructure, he said. Those investments were creating opportunities across the technology ecosystem, ranging from AI-ready devices to data-center solutions and edge-computing infrastructure. Research, development and talent Lenovo is continuing work to establish a research and development center and a customer experience center in Saudi Arabia, Faqeeh said. The company has appointed Dr. Rabeah Alzaidy to lead its local research and development initiatives. Areas under consideration include artificial intelligence, device innovation, smart manufacturing, and technologies tailored to local market requirements, including support for Arabic-language use. The customer experience center will allow customers, partners, and policymakers to interact directly with Lenovo’s latest technologies and innovation capabilities, Faqeeh said. The first group of Saudi engineers has completed training at Lenovo manufacturing facilities around the world and is now supporting the company’s local operations. Lenovo will continue investing in programs that build expertise in advanced manufacturing, engineering, research and development, and emerging technologies, allowing Saudi talent to participate in the technology industries of the future, Faqeeh said. Partnership with Alat Faqeeh said Lenovo’s partnership with Alat had moved from vision to implementation, citing progress in constructing the plant, the unveiling of the first Saudi-made Lenovo laptop, and the launch of initiatives to develop Saudi talent. The partnership combines Lenovo’s global manufacturing expertise with Saudi Arabia’s industrial ambitions, he said. It is intended to strengthen domestic capabilities, develop high-value skills, support knowledge transfer, and help build a technology manufacturing ecosystem capable of competing globally.
