Head of Saudi wealth fund ‘worried’ by increasing power of large tech firms

Head of Saudi wealth fund ‘worried’ by increasing power of large tech firms

The head of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, Yasir Al-Rumayyan has revealed his concerns over the growing power of large tech firms.

Al-Rumayyan, who is also chairman of oil giant Saudi Aramco, was speaking on a panel discussion on the opening day of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh.

He said: “If you look at the valuations two years ago and if you look at the valuations today, definitely things went over the roof. We are worried, not only from the valuation standpoint but from how some of these technology companies are having bigger powers and a lot of the regulators, not only in the US but in Europe and some other parts, are beginning to be concerned about some of the dominant players.”

Just this week, French President Emmanuel Macron told Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on a call that unfair practices will be seen as an attack on European democracy, according to a report from Bloomberg.

The EU wants the tech industry to abide by rules to moderate online content and constrain the market power of Big Tech players. 

Al-Rumayyan, who is also chairman of the FII, said they were “definitely watching the situation”.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin