Equinix intends to invest US$500 million in Thailand in phases over the next 10 years, including the recent acquisition of land in Bangkok for US$34 million.
The data centre firm announced this in response to the increasing needs of both enterprises and major cloud service providers, as the Thai government’s Cloud First-Policy has spurred a surge in demand for greater digital interconnectivity, coupled with the Southeast Asian country’s proximity to the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) sub-region.
Equinix noted that major cloud players have begun establishing a local presence and continue to focus heavily on growing their footprint in Thailand.
This investment by Equinix is another step in its Asia-Pacific expansion strategy, which is expected to fuel long-term growth of digital infrastructure in Thailand and the CLMV countries.
The newly acquired land in the Bangna Area of Bangkok, covering over 18,700 square meters, is intentionally located near the existing Bangkok interconnection eco-system. The land will be used to establish two Equinix International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers, providing more than 3,375 cabinets at full build out.
Considering the property’s prime position next to the main transport route connecting the airport and the city centre, along with its access to public infrastructure and a reliable supply of land and power, Equinix sees it an ideal location to capture growth and interconnectivity opportunities in Bangkok.
Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary general of the Thailand Board of Investment, said the next decade will see accelerated shifts in supply chains and migration to the cloud, with manufacturing and digital economic production diversifying across Thailand and the rapidly growing CLMV sub-region.
Narit said that Thailand has emerged as a prime investment destination in this supply chain transformation, attracting substantial investments in prominent industrial clusters, particularly in cloud services, electronics and electric vehicle sectors.
“This investment underscores our commitment to building a robust and increasingly diverse ecosystem that brings together major cloud service providers and enterprises, fostering business growth and innovation in the region,” said Cyrus Adaggra, Equinix VP of corporate development in the Asia-Pacific region.
In APAC, Equinix currently operates 58 data centres located in 15 key metros across Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore.
Most recently, Equinix announced its market entry into the Philippines and continued expansion in Hong Kong, Malaysia and India. Its global presence with 264 data centres across 72 metros continues to support over 10,000 leading businesses worldwide.
