(May 6): Thailand approved THB958 billion (US$29 billion or $37.7 billion) of investment projects, led by TikTok System (Thailand) Co’s planned expansion of data infrastructure as the country pushes to become a regional hub for artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services.
TikTok’s THB842 billion project will add servers and expand data storage and processing facilities across Bangkok and the neighbouring provinces of Samut Prakan and Chachoengsao, according to a statement on Wednesday from the Board of Investment (BOI). The plan also includes digital literacy and e-commerce training programmes.
Other approved projects included a THB46 billion data centre backed by United Arab Emirates-based DAMAC Group and a THB24.6 billion facility by Singapore-based Bridge Data Centres.
The investments underscore intensifying competition across Southeast Asia for AI-related infrastructure as global technology firms ramp up spending on data centres and cloud services. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has pledged to accelerate approvals to support the country’s digital infrastructure build-out.
The board also cleared projects in renewable energy, recycling and mining-related industries, including a potassium chloride plant by Asean Potash Chaiyaphum used in fertiliser production.
The BOI added nine projects to its FastPass programme as well, which is intended to speed up approvals and permits for selected investments. The additions bring the programme’s total investment value to THB223 billion.
See also: SoftBank cuts target for OpenAI margin loan by 40% to US$6 bil — Bloomberg
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