BoI targets Thai digital hub status

Thailand has the potential to become a digital economic hub in Southeast Asia, driven by the growth of domestic data centres and cloud service businesses, including a recent investment from Google, says the Board of Investment (BoI).
Google’s plan to develop a data centre and cloud region here under a US$1-billion investment reflects Thailand’s readiness for regional hub status in terms of digital infrastructure and market, said Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the BoI.
A data centre is a network of computers that stores, processes and distributes data, while a cloud region is an area where a cloud service provider operates a number of data centres simultaneously to improve performance.
Mr Narit was speaking after Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet, the parent firm of Google, announced the investment plan following a meeting with Prime Minster Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Sept 30.
Mr Narit attributed Thailand’s appeal as a tech investment destination to its availability of 5G wireless technology and the expansion of the digital market following public and private sector digital transformation policies.
In addition, internet penetration rates are high in Thailand and people have taken to online financial transactions, he said.
Thailand has a geographical advantage, sitting in the centre of the region and serving as a hub for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, said Mr Narit.
“Data centres and cloud services are an essential part of the plan to enhance the Thai digital economy. These facilities will facilitate work between people and technologies to make high-value products and services,” he said.
Foreign and Thai companies in the data centre and cloud service businesses have so far submitted 46 investment proposals, worth 168 billion baht, to the BoI to apply for investment incentive packages.
They plan to build facilities to support their businesses in Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Chon Buri and Rayong.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) earlier announced a plan to spend up to 200 billion baht developing data centres by 2037. In the first phase, AWS will allocate 25 billion baht to build three data centres.