The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) stated that Thailand is one of the targeted countries for data center and cloud service investment to develop AI for digital services.
Recently, there are 37 data center and cloud service projects that have received approval from the BOI, with an investment value over 2,800 million USD. They include AWS, NextDC, STT GDC, Supernap (Switch), One Asia, Alibaba Cloud, and Huawei Technologies, as well as investment plans from Google and Microsoft.
The BOI also asserted that Thailand has five strengths that will boost its route to a digital economy hub, as follows:
- A prime location in the center of ASEAN, connecting countries in the region, especially CLMVT countries, which have a combined population of 250 million;
- High safety and security, low risk of international conflicts and natural disasters, and having international-standard digital regulations, such as PDPA and a Cyber Security Act, which are essential for protecting data and facilities;
- High-quality infrastructure, high potential for clean energy sources, and high-speed Internet, which are essential for data center investment;
- High domestic market expansion from digital transformation, such as the government’s Cloud First Policy, high internet accessibility and a large number of people who use digital transactions, such as PromptPay, Mobile Banking, and e-Payment;
- BOI privileges, such as VAT deductions and exemption, land tenure, visa and work permit facilitation, data and location searching service, related permission request coordination service, and Global Minimum Tax impact mitigation measures. (PRD)
