Leading global data center companies are rushing to invest in Thailand to support the growth of digital and AI businesses in the country and region. This reinforces the government’s strategy for digital economic development. The Board of Investment (“BOI”) recently announced that Equinix, the world’s leading global data center company on colocation services with over 260 data centers across 72 cities globally from the United States, has unveiled a plan to invest THB 16.5 billion in Thailand over the next 10 years, boosting Thailand’s potential as a digital hub for the CLMVT region between Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand. This results in the surge of investment promotion for data center and cloud service sector to over THB 170 billion.
The continuous steady wave of investment in the data center industry flows into Thailand. Currently, there are 47 projects applying for investment promotion in data center and cloud service sector, with a total investment value exceeding THB 173 billion. Recently, Equinix announced its plan to invest its data center sector in Thailand with a total investment of more than USD 500 million (approximately THB 16.5 billion) over the next 10 years. The BOI has already approved investment promotion for the first phase of this project, valued at over THB 7.18 billion, with operations set to commence in 2027.
Equinix has chosen Thailand as the location for its new data center to serve customers in Thailand and the countries in CLMVT region for three main reasons: (a) Thailand’s readiness to be the regional digital business hub, particularly as a connecting hub for the CLMVT countries, with a combined population of over 250 million; (b) the potential growth of the domestic market, driven by the rise of AI technology and business demand for digital transformation, as well as Thailand’s proactive Cloud First Policy, which encourages cloud technology adoption by the public and private sectors, boosting demand and expanding the data center market in Thailand; and (c) the government’s clear investment promotion policies and BOI, combined with high-quality digital infrastructure, including high-speed internet networks, 5G connectivity, reliable power systems, and internet access for over 85 percent of the population