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TikTok gets nod to invest US$3.8bil in Thailand data project

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TikTok Pte Ltd will support the activities of affiliated companies through its Thai digital infrastructure project.

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TikTok’s investment is a shot in the arm for the Thai government, which has pledged fresh incentives to attract global companies looking to minimise the hit from the US-China trade war. (AP pic)

BANGKOK:
Social media platform TikTok won Thai government approval to invest US$3.8 billion in data hosting services, as the Southeast Asian country pushes to become a hub for data centres and cloud services.

TikTok Pte Ltd, the Singaporean unit of Chinese technology giant ByteDance Ltd, will support the activities of affiliated companies through its Thai digital infrastructure project, the Board of Investment (BOI) said in a statement today.

TikTok’s services are expected to commence next year.

The board also approved a ฿3.25 billion project by Siam AI Corporation, a Thai cloud partner of US chip designer Nvidia Corp, to set up services focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

The proposal was part of ฿170.5 billion of projects cleared by the board today.

TikTok’s Thai investment comes amid uncertainty over its US operations as the clock ticks on a 75-day reprieve given by President Donald Trump to find a domestic buyer.

It joins companies such as Amazon Web Services and Alphabet Inc’s Google and Australia’s NextDC in announcing plans to build projects for large data centres and cloud services in Thailand.

“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 Southeast Asia,” said Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the BOI.

Thailand is “the next frontier” for the world’s data centre boom, according to Macquarie Equity Research, which cited the country’s ample power supply and high grid stability as key selling points.

However, shortage of skilled workers will prove a challenge, Macquarie analysts noted in a report last month.

TikTok’s investment is a shot in the arm for prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s government which has pledged fresh incentives to attract global companies looking to minimise the hit from the US-China trade war that’s likely to intensify under the Trump administration.

In 2024, Thailand saw investment pledges surge 35% from a year earlier to ฿1.14 trillion, the highest since 2014.

The government is targeting fresh proposals worth at least ฿1 trillion this year.

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