BANGKOK: Google plans to invest $1 billion to build digital infrastructure in Thailand, including a new data center, the US tech giant has announced, saying the move would support 14,000 jobs in the kingdom. The new hubs in Bangkok and the industrial area of Chonburi are intended to help meet growing demand for cloud computing in Southeast Asia, the company said in a Monday statement.

Google’s investment comes after Microsoft announced in May that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure. “These investments will empower Thai businesses, innovators, and communities to harness the power of cloud and AI technology,” Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Google and its parent company Alphabet, said.

The investment’s details were unveiled after a Bangkok meeting between Porat and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who hailed the move as proof Thailand was becoming a major digital hub in Southeast Asia. The data center will be located in Chonburi, a major industrial area southeast of Bangkok, while the cloud facilities will be in the capital itself. Google’s expansion in Thailand will add $4 billion to the kingdom’s GDP by 2029 and support 14,000 jobs between 2025 and 2029, the company said, citing a report from consultancy Deloitte.

The announcement comes a year after Shinawatra’s predecessor Srettha Thavisin made a major push for investment from US tech giants during a trip to New York, seeking finance from Google, Microsoft and Elon Musk’s Tesla. Thailand is Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, but its tech sector has lagged behind the likes of Singapore and Indonesia. The Thai economy, long focused on traditional manufacturing, agriculture and tourism, has struggled to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government hopes investment from Google, Microsoft and their ilk will diversify and modernize the kingdom’s economy. Thailand’s Office of the National Digital Economy and Society Commission has said the digital economy could contribute as much as 30 percent of GDP by 2027. Across the region, governments are vying for US tech dollars, with Vietnam making a drive to move up the value chain from its traditional base as a hub for producing shoes, clothes and furniture.

Vietnam hopes to cash in on the US move to become less dependent on China for key resources including high-tech chips. And last week, Vietnamese state media reported that Musk’s SpaceX plans to invest $1.5 billion in the communist country. — AFP