Announcement comes after rival Microsoft last week unveiled major investments in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
Amazon has revealed its intentions to inject $9 billion into Singapore to enhance cloud infrastructure in the city-state. This announcement, made during the Amazon Web Services (AWS) ASEAN Summit on Tuesday, follows the Seattle-based tech giant’s unveiling of multibillion-dollar investments in cloud services in Malaysia and Thailand last year.
Singapore, while Apple CEO Tim Cook last month visited Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia.
On Monday, Malaysia’s trade and investment minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said Google would announce plans to invest in the country “in the near future”, the state-run news agency Bernama reported.
AWS is intensifying its commitment to cloud infrastructure investments in Singapore from 2024 to 2028 to meet customer demand and bolster Singapore’s position as a prime regional innovation hub,” stated AWS Country Manager Priscilla Chong.
According to Amazon, this investment will contribute to over 12,000 jobs annually at Singaporean enterprises and add $23.7 billion to Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Amazon’s announcement is part of a broader trend among U.S.-based tech giants expanding their presence in Southeast Asia. Just last week, Microsoft unveiled significant investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services across Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.
In December, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang embarked on a tour of Malaysia, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian nations. Global consulting firm Kearney has projected that AI could potentially contribute nearly $1 trillion to Southeast Asia’s GDP by 2030.
Amazon currently holds the position of the world’s largest cloud infrastructure provider, predominantly through AWS, as reported by Synergy Research Group for the first quarter of this year. Last week, the tech giant disclosed a three-fold increase in operating income to $15.3 billion, largely driven by the strong performance of its advertising and cloud divisions.
