Thailand approves $3.1B in data center investments as global tech firms scale in Southeast Asia

Thailand’s investment board has approved $3.1 billion worth of investments in cloud and data center investments. The latest addition to the country’s tech sector expansion includes Dubai’s DAMAC Digital, one of the approved projects.

The BOI has disclosed that DAMAC’s project includes an 84-MW data center valued at over 26.7 billion Baht. A local investor is also set to inject at least 54.9 billion Baht into a hyperscale data center project with 200 MW of IT load.

The board previously approved Singapore-based Empyrion Digital, China’s Beijing Haoyang Cloud & Data Technology, and Thailand’s GSA Data Center O2.

Beijing Haoyang plans to construct a 300 MW data center, valued at approximately $2.24 billion (72.7 billion Baht). GSA Data Center O2 also plans to spend over $417 million (13.5 billion Baht) on a 35-megawatt data center.

Bytedance has also announced plans to set up 128 billion Baht data hosting services in Thailand. Alphabet Inc.’s Google also committed to investing $1 billion in the country, while Amazon Web Services (AWS) wants to spread a $5 billion investment over 15 years. Microsoft previously confirmed its interest in establishing a regional data center worth over $2 billion in Thailand. 

BOI chief claims investments will strengthen investor confidence

BOI chief Narit Therdsteerasukdi said these data center investments will strengthen investor confidence in Thailand’s investment framework and lead to an increase in employment. The BOI chief believes that they will also have a positive effect on the country’s broader economic development. 

The BOI has also approved measures to accelerate stalled investments worth over $9.2 billion (~300 billion Baht) as part of an initiative launched by the agency last month. It has further approved six licenses to reduce delays in power availability, work permits, obtaining Visas, and industrial land access. 

Therdsteerasukdi said the BOI will facilitate and ease investment rules to support the 70 approved projects, which primarily involve data centers, power generation, and electronics.

The investment push is reportedly part of the Thai government’s plans to boost the country’s economy, which has been impacted by U.S. tariffs, a strong Baht, and high household debt. Meanwhile, the Krungthai Compass Institute speculates that data center investments in Thailand could increase 13.9 times by 2028.

LSEG says Asia Pacific leads in global data center dealmaking

The Asia-Pacific region secured approximately $840.47 million in data center deals last year, according to a report published by LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group). However, the value of data center deals in the region is expected to be even higher by the end of 2025. 

Thailand’s latest investment approvals align with the country’s mission to improve both its digital economy and data security. The large number of international tech investments flooding into the country is expected to boost Thailand’s economic growth in the tech sector and provide new employment opportunities. 

Surging data center investments in the Asia Pacific reportedly follow a similar trajectory to that in the U.S. and Europe. Tech giants like Meta Platforms are rapidly expanding their AI capabilities.

The AI boom in Southeast Asia has also led to a surge in infrastructure development. Data centers that house computer servers and equipment for data processing and storage are rapidly emerging throughout the region. 

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