Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has announced a $9 billion investment in expanding its cloud computing infrastructure in Singapore. This decision comes as part of a broader trend of global tech companies increasing their presence in Southeast Asia.
What Happened: The $9 billion investment will be carried out over the next four years and will effectively double Amazon Web Services' current investment in Singapore. The expansion aims to meet the growing demand for cloud services and accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
With this move, AWS joins other tech giants such as Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in expanding their presence in Southeast Asia. These companies are diversifying their investments away from China, amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions with the U.S.
Earlier this year, AWS announced plans to invest approximately $35 billion outside the U.S., including in Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico. The company is also establishing clusters of data centers in Malaysia and Thailand.
Why It Matters: This significant investment by Amazon in Singapore is part of a larger trend of tech companies expanding their presence in Southeast Asia. Just last week, Microsoft announced a $2.2 billion investment in Malaysia's cloud and AI services, its largest investment in the country in 32 years. This move by Amazon further underscores the region's growing importance as a tech hub.
Meanwhile, Apple has been deepening its involvement with China while expanding its production in Southeast Asia and India. Despite the challenges faced by Apple in China, the company continues to see the region as a crucial part of its global strategy.
Earlier this year, Google Cloud executives also recognized Singapore's potential as a leading global AI hub, attributing its success to a conducive environment for innovation and robust public-private partnerships.
Price Action: Amazon's after-hours trading on Monday shows a slight decrease of 0.24 points, amounting to 0.13% at $188.46, according to the data from Benzinga Pro.
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