Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

 

by Puntid Tantivangphaisal

Google is set to enhance its footprint in Thailand by constructing a new cloud data centre in Chon Buri, announced Google’s president and chief investment officer, Ruth Porat.

 

Porat engaged with Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Wednesday, January 22.

The Google executive expressed gratitude towards the Thai government for its support in developing the cloud data centre in Chon Buri, which is currently under construction and expected to be operational within approximately two years.

 

Porat confirmed Google’s ongoing support for Thai government agencies, including the Ministry of Education, with which Google has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for digital skills training. She also emphasised Google’s commitment to assisting Thai small- and medium-sized enterprises through upskilling initiatives. She noted this as evidence of Google’s resolve to sustain its presence in Thailand.

Paetongtarn expressed her hope that Google would consider Thailand as a primary production base for its digital products, assuring that the government is prepared to facilitate Google’s growth in the country.

The 38 year old Thai premier also engaged in discussions with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, who congratulated her on Thailand’s achievement in securing a free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

 

The Thai-EFTA free trade agreement is anticipated to significantly enhance trade between Thailand and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland by alleviating trade barriers such as tariffs. Switzerland ranks as Thailand’s second-largest trading partner in Europe. The leaders also explored the potential for a reciprocal visa-free agreement and Switzerland’s endorsement of Thailand’s green transition.

 

Photo courtesy of Bangkok Post

Yesterday, the Thai PM observed the official signing of the Thai-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) free trade agreement.

 

During the Davos visit, Paetongtarn and Foreign Affairs Minister Maris Sangiampongsa conferred with Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser to the Bangladesh government, and Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

 

Paetongtarn underscored Thailand’s dedication to enhancing trade and investment. She also communicated Thailand’s determination to finalise the Thai-European Union free trade agreement later this year and sought Sweden’s backing for this initiative, reported Bangkok Post.

 

Thailand anticipates initiating free trade agreement discussions with Bangladesh and is eager to host the sixth BIMSTEC Summit on April 4 before transferring the summit’s chairmanship to Bangladesh.

 

Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan mentioned in a panel discussion on Tuesday, January 21 that Thailand is fully prepared to welcome all investments in artificial intelligence.

 

Source: The Thaiger 

-- 2025-01-24

 

 

Cloud related or smog related?

19 hours ago, webfact said:

Paetongtarn expressed her hope that Google would consider Thailand as a primary production base for its digital products, assuring that the government is prepared to facilitate Google’s growth in the country.

Investment

Where is the electricity coming from?

The data center project with PM involved is in the news since September. So this Davos thing is just a PR show.

 

Important question for me: will Swiss cheese become cheaper 🤣

42 minutes ago, JimHuaHin said:

Where is the electricity coming from?

Time for my first Gemini test.

And the only meaningful content is: no info released yet 🙄

 

"Google has not yet released specific details about the power source for their new data center in Thailand. However, Google is committed to using renewable energy sources for its data centers, so it is likely that the Thailand data center will be powered by a mix of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power."

 

1 hour ago, KhunBENQ said:

The data center project with PM involved is in the news since September. So this Davos thing is just a PR show.

 

Important question for me: will Swiss cheese become cheaper 🤣

2 very good points.

If I could add a third, the price of Toblerone. Like a good yodel between the peaks.

8 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Cloud related or smog related?

 

2.5 ppm interest , in either  !

I was BORN in a heavily industrial town, the bottom third of my lungs were black for about 20 years  !
Its easy to solve if you have the B$^^s , but very difficult if you have a VESTED interest  !
 

7 hours ago, JimHuaHin said:

Where is the electricity coming from?

 

Perhaps Google could help lead the charge into Thailand's use of Small Modular Reactors.

9 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Investment

Nothing new, the Thai data centre market was valued at 652 M USD in 2023, there are 2 already in Chonburi.

 

Who are the data center players in Thailand?

The key market players operating in the Thailand data center industry include Amazon Web Service Inc., IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Oracle Corporation, SAP SE, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, NTT DATA, Inc., STT GDC Pte Ltd, TCC Technology Co.

https://www.nextmsc.com/report/thailand-data-center-market#:~:text=The key market players operating,Pte Ltd%2C TCC Technology Co.

15 hours ago, sandyf said:

Nothing new, the Thai data centre market was valued at 652 M USD in 2023, there are 2 already in Chonburi

That explains why I could download Windows installation file with ~800 Mbit/s. Highest ever seen for a download.

On 1/26/2025 at 7:46 AM, KhunBENQ said:

That explains why I could download Windows installation file with ~800 Mbit/s. Highest ever seen for a download.

Because now a days, there are so called "Edge" datacenters everywhere that caches content. AWS, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Cloudflare, Netflix, etc, all have Edge data-centers in Thailand, to make things like watching a netflix movie in 4K really smooth and fast, or some youtube video, or downloading a 20GB MacOS update.

 

Edge datacenters are private, what is this article saying is that Google will launch it's public Cloud offering in Thailand for the customers, just like AWS just did.

 

I use Singapore at my business, because it's the fastest and closest to Bangkok. we wont migrate to Bangkok as there is no need.

the only benefit would be for people who want very low latency and real-time applications. 

AWS is a lot better, but Google Cloud is catching up.