Tech giants to invest B300bn in Thailand
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Tech giants to invest B300bn in Thailand

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin greets top executives of Google at a meeting in San Francisco on Tuesday. (Government House photo)
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin greets top executives of Google at a meeting in San Francisco on Tuesday. (Government House photo)

The government has announced it has successfully courted Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google and Microsoft to invest in Thailand, with a total investment worth about 300 billion baht.

Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin met executives from the three tech giants during his visit to the United States and succeeded in wooing them to invest in the kingdom.

Mr Chai said the firms' investment plans will bring significant economic benefits to the country while enhancing its digital infrastructure and the development of a high-skilled labour force.

He said AWS's planned investment in cloud computing infrastructure will increase Thailand's competitiveness while boosting workers' expertise in this advanced sector.

Microsoft has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government, which will enhance the country's competitiveness in digital technology and allow the government to provide e-services more efficiently.

Mr Chai said the country's plan to adopt the "Utility Green Tariff" is one of the factors drawing the tech firms' interest. He said Google has also signed an MoU with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES), which will bolster the country's competitiveness in the digital industry and help stimulate economic growth.

He said Google is touting Thailand as its fourth data centre hub in the Asia-Pacific and the world's 11th.

"The prime minister considers this a successful beginning, and the government will put more effort into drawing leading firms to invest in the country," said Mr Chai.

Quoting the prime minister, he said Thailand's geographical location, infrastructure readiness and public health and education systems make the country appealing to international investors.

Early this week, the Board of Investment (BoI) said Amazon's investment will focus on establishing three data centres during an initial phase.

According to the BoI, Mr Srettha was looking in advance to encourage Google and Microsoft to establish data centres and cloud service bases in Thailand during the meeting.

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