BANGKOK: The government has decided to offer tax incentives to encourage local and foreign partners to set up at least 40 Internet data centres in 2015.
The establishment of at least 40 data centres here is expected to require an investment of Bt30 billion. The government will launch promotional packages via the Board of Investment to woo foreign companies into forming data centre joint ventures with local partners. The foreign partners can enjoy tax privileges on the condition that they agree to transfer technology to the local partners. The move is also in line with the new BOI strategy to funnel investment to innovations and ICT in Thailand.
The ad hoc digital economy committee, chaired by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha will hold its first meeting next week to outline the national digital economy plan. Djitt said the data warehouse business is one of the key engines of growth for the new digital economy era. The data storage centres will serve the high demand for new services, including cloud computing, from companies and government agencies.