Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and even India have so far been the most obvious destinations for electronics manufacturers to migrate out of China due to US tariffs, but Saudi Arabia is also keen to seize its chance to become a PC manufacturing hub. Lenovo, HP Inc and Dell are already involved.
Image source: Lenovo
The three companies listed, as Tom’s Hardware explains with reference to the DigiTimes publication, are the largest manufacturers of personal computers. All of them have made some progress in organizing production of their products in the vicinity of the capital of Saudi Arabia or in the city. Lenovo intends to organize the assembly of PCs and server systems here, its plans are supported by investments in the amount of $2 billion by the country’s sovereign investment fund. HP Inc and Dell have sent their delegations to Saudi Arabia to discuss the issue and study the situation at the invitation of local authorities.
Contract manufacturers of PCs and server equipment, such as Taiwanese companies Foxconn, Quanta, Wistron and Compal, are also being attracted by the Saudi Arabian authorities to localize their production, but have not yet shown much enthusiasm in this area. One of the problems may be the region’s underdeveloped logistics. Foreign electronics manufacturers should be attracted by subsidies from the Saudi authorities and the relatively low customs duty on locally-made goods imported into the United States, which is currently only 10% higher than the base rate of a similar size. Products assembled in Saudi Arabia will also be sent to the African continent, so locating plants in the country makes some sense for market participants. Lenovo will put its local plant into operation in 2026.