Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) said on Wednesday it has approved a proposal by Chinese tech giant TikTok to build a 127 billion baht ($3.8 billion) data centre in the country.
The investment will be made by the Singapore unit of TikTok’s parent company Bytedance and the data centre will support companies affiliated with the popular short-video site, which has over a billion users.
TikTok has been branching out into e-commerce in the ASEAN region and operations at the new site are forecast to begin in 2026.
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The national investment board also approved a 3.25-billion-baht project by Siam AI Corporation – the Thai cloud partner of US chip designer Nvidia – to set up services focused on artificial intelligence applications.
Thailand has become a popular site for data centres set up by major tech giants. Analysts say Thailand is seen as having a better power supply and more stable electricity grid that many of its neighbours.
In 2023 Amazon Web Services announced a $5-billion investment over 15 years, while Google said last year it would invest $1 billion in a data hub in Chon Buri province.
Microsoft also announced it would open its first regional data centre in the country, whose leaders have wooed tech giants vigorously in recent years.
“TikTok’s and Siam AI’s investments mark a significant step in enhancing Thailand’s digital and AI infrastructure and supporting the national goal of becoming a digital innovation hub in ASEAN,” Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the BOI,
said after the meeting.
TikTok’s investment in Thailand is a boost for the Paetongtarn Shinawatra government, which has struggled to lift its sluggish economy to levels enjoyed under previous Shinawatra administrations.
It comes amid uncertainty about the company’s operation in the US, where new President Donald Trump has given it 75 days reprieve to find a domestic buyer or face shutdown. Microsoft and Oracle are among companies looking to take over the Chinese company’s US unit.
The investment board also approved revised promotion measures for the bioeconomy, such as promotion of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Mixed SAF.
- Jim Pollard
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