▪️Thai Prime Minister Betontota met today with Borat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Google and its parent company, Alphabet.
Bétonta pledged to continue developing digital policies, while Polat announced that Google would invest $1 billion in Thailand to build data centers and a cloud region.
Thailand’s new Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, met with and hosted a dinner for Ruth Porat at the Prime Minister’s Office today; the Prime Minister’s Office issued a press release after the meeting stating the above.
In his remarks, Baidongta said that last November—during the tenure of former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin—he facilitated the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Google and Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, with both parties focusing on cloud systems to help strengthen Thailand’s digital competitiveness and accelerate the digital transformation process. Baidongta stated that he would continue to promote such cooperative relationships.
Beidongta stated that strengthening the digital economy is a key to Thailand’s transformation. By enhancing the public’s digital literacy, reducing inequality, and providing more opportunities, Thailand will not only provide stable infrastructure but also use these technologies in a neutral manner.
▪️Beidongta also pointed out that Thailand is actively establishing clean energy mechanisms, such as Direct Power Purchase Agreements (DPPAs), and seeking new sources to provide investors with access to clean energy.
In addition, Beidongta noted that establishing a digital regulatory framework is also important. One of Thailand’s key policies is the “Cloud First Policy,” which enables the government to strengthen digital services, data management, and cybersecurity through flexible regulations suited to the digital age.
▪️Southeast Asia, with a population of approximately 675 million, is rapidly becoming a new battleground for tech giants. Companies such as Apple (AAPL-US), Microsoft (MSFT-US), NVIDIA (NVDA-US), and Amazon (AMZN-US) are also actively investing billions of dollars to build AI data centers in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.
Ruth Porat, Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet (GOOGL-US), Google’s parent company, stated in an email: “We are investing in the construction of cloud service regions, data centers, and submarine cables throughout the region. This is a continuation of our long-standing efforts to bring cloud infrastructure closer to local people and organizations.”
