Amazon to invest $12 billion in Singapore’s cloud computing infra

Amazon’s new investments: Amazon.com intends to allocate S$12 billion ($8.88 billion) over the next four years to bolster its cloud computing infrastructure in Singapore, Amazon Web Services (AWS) disclosed on Tuesday.

The investment supplements the S$11.5 billion already committed to the Asia Pacific Region until 2023, bringing the total projected expenditure to over S$23 billion by 2028, as stated by AWS in a release.

The pursuit of a greater stake in the global tech arena has spurred Southeast Asia's top leaders into action. Noteworthy visits include Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's engagements in Malaysia, Vietnam, and Singapore in December, and Apple CEO Tim Cook's recent trips to Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Recent financial commitments in the region include Apple's pledge to inject over $250 million into its Singaporean operations.

AWS also revealed a collaborative effort with the Singaporean government, public sector entities, and businesses to expedite the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI in Singapore, according to the statement.

Priscilla Chong, AWS Country Manager, affirmed, "AWS is intensifying its investments in cloud infrastructure in Singapore from 2024 to 2028 to meet customer demands and reinforce Singapore’s position as a prime regional hub for innovation."

The announcement at the AWS ASEAN Summit in Singapore underscores Amazon's ongoing strategy to establish AWS infrastructure throughout Southeast Asia. Previous declarations include a $5 billion investment in Thailand and a $6 billion commitment in Malaysia.

Amazon's revelation closely follows Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's announcement of cloud services investments worth $2.2 billion in Malaysia and $1.7 billion in Indonesia during his visit to the region.

With a youthful and tech-savvy population of 670 million, Southeast Asia has garnered increasing attention from tech behemoths.

In December, Reuters reported that Malaysian conglomerate YTL's utilities unit had struck a $4.3 billion investment deal with Nvidia to develop AI infrastructure.

Moreover, on Monday, Malaysia’s trade minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz hinted at Google's impending investment in the country, with an announcement anticipated "in the near future," as per the state news agency report.

Meanwhile, Indonesia is actively pursuing a revisit from Nvidia's Huang, with communications minister Budi Arie Setiadi disclosing last month that an invitation had been extended.

(With Reuters inputs)