Thailand approves $36b of investment projects, led by $31b from TikTok


BANGKOK - Thailand has approved six major projects worth a combined 958 billion baht (S$37 billion), or US$29 billion (S$36.7 billion), its investment board said on Wednesday (May 6).
The approvals include a large-scale data infrastructure expansion by a local unit of TikTok valued at 842 billion baht, or approximately US$25 billion, the board said in a statement.
"The project will install additional servers and expand data storage and processing infrastructure across Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Chachoengsao Province, supporting rising demand for digital services and strengthening Thailand's role in regional digital infrastructure," the board said in a statement.
Last year, TikTok had said it would invest US$8.8 billion in data centres over five years. TikTok is owned by China's ByteDance.
"Beyond its core infrastructure investment, TikTok has also committed to developing digital literacy and e-commerce curricula to help create new business opportunities for Thai entrepreneurs and strengthen the country's digital workforce," the Investment Board said.
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