The Thai government sees TikTok's investment as a step toward positioning the country as a regional tech hub, competing with countries like Vietnam and Malaysia…
On February 28, 2025, Helena Lersch, TikTok's Vice President of Public Policy, met with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in Bangkok and announced plans to invest $8.8 billion (about 300 billion baht) in data centers in Thailand over the next five years.
The commitment marks a sharp increase from TikTok's previous investment plan in Thailand, which was approved by the Thai Board of Investment (BOI) in January 2025 for just $3.8 billion (126 billion baht).
BYTEDANCE'S AMBITION TO EXPAND DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
According to Bloomberg, the $8.8 billion investment is more than double the original target, demonstrating ByteDance's ambition to expand its digital infrastructure in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand - an important market with more than 50 million TikTok users out of a total population of 70 million. Mr. Lersch emphasized that this investment will help TikTok operate more efficiently in Thailand and the region, better serving users and customers.
TikTok plans to spend $8.8 billion over five years (2025-2030) on data center hosting services. However, it is unclear whether this amount includes the $3.8 billion previously approved by the BOI or is a completely new addition. According to Communications Today, TikTok plans to build infrastructure to support not only individual users but also more than 3 million businesses and content creators on the platform in Thailand.
The purpose of the investment is clear, according to analysts. ByteDance aims to increase its domestic data storage capacity to improve service speeds and reduce its reliance on data centers outside Thailand. This is also in line with the “data localization” trend that many Southeast Asian countries are demanding of large tech companies. In addition to data storage, the investment will support the development of AI, content creation, and human resources skills, as Prime Minister Paetongtarn posted on X on February 28, 2025.
A STEP FORWARD TO POSITIONING THAILAND AS A REGIONAL TECHNOLOGY HUB
TikTok's investment has been hailed by the Thai government as a major boost to the development of the digital economy. Prime Minister Paetongtarn stressed on X that the project will help Thailand improve its AI infrastructure, promote content creation and improve human resource skills. According to Reuters, the Thai government sees this as a step towards positioning the country as a regional technology hub, competing with countries like Vietnam and Malaysia.
In terms of economic impact, investment commitments to Thailand in 2024 increased by 35% year-on-year to 1.14 trillion baht ($33.3 billion) – the highest level since 2014. TikTok’s investment will contribute significantly to this figure, creating jobs and boosting the local tech industry.
The investment will also impact the development of AI and innovation in Thailand. TikTok has pledged to launch business training programs, combat online fraud, and develop a domestic cloud storage service. This will help Thailand build its AI capabilities and reduce its dependence on foreign technology.
Thailand is becoming an attractive destination for global tech companies. Before TikTok, Amazon, Google and Microsoft also announced major investments in data centers and AI infrastructure here. Google invested $1 billion in Bangkok and Chonburi, while AWS plans to spend $5 billion by 2037.
For ByteDance, the investment is part of a strategy to expand its global AI infrastructure to more than $12 billion by 2025. TikTok is expanding its presence in Southeast Asia to avoid the risk of a potential ban in the US and to ease geopolitical tensions between the US and China. Prior to Thailand, ByteDance invested $2.1 billion in an AI center in Malaysia, signaling a strategic focus for the region.
(Source: https://vneconomy.vn)