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TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, is set to make Bt126.8bn ($3.76bn) investment in data hosting services in Thailand.
The investment by TikTok Pte., the Singapore-based unit of the Chinese tech giant, has received approval from the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI), with operations scheduled to commence in 2026.
TikTok, which boasts over more than a billion users globally, is joining other industry firms such as Amazon Web Services, Google, NextDC, CtrlS Datacenters, and GDS IDC Services in establishing a footprint in the Thai market.
The company’s investment forms part of $5bn worth of new initiatives approved by the Thailand’s BOI that includes a Bt3.25bn investment by Siam AI, a local company focusing on cloud services powered by AI.
In 2024, Google announced a $1bn investment in Thailand, following Amazon Web Services’ $5bn commitment over 15 years.
Microsoft has also revealed plans to open its first regional data centre in Thailand.
Thailand BOI secretary general Narit Therdsteerasukdi said: “TikTok’s and Siam AI’s investments mark a significant step in enhancing Thailand’s digital and AI infrastructure and supporting the national goal of becoming a digital innovation hub in ASEAN.”
TikTok’s plans for Thailand come in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s recent statement indicating that Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok.
Trump expressed interest in a bidding war for the video-sharing app.
According to media reports, the White House is said to be negotiating a deal and aims to address the country’s concerns on national security, data privacy associated with TikTok.
In addition, reports have emerged that Oracle, alongside a consortium of investors, is also in the running to acquire the social media platform.