Google Considers Building Large Data Center in Vietnam, Marking First by US Big Tech

Google weighs large data centre in Vietnam, in nation's first by US big tech

By Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio HANOI - Alphabet's Google is considering building a large data centre in Vietnam, a person briefed on the plans said, in what would be the first such investment by a big U.S. technology company in the Southeast Asian nation. Google is weighing setting up a "hyperscale" data centre close to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's southern economic hub, the source said, declining to be named because the information is not public. The investment, the size of which the source did not specify, would be a shot in the arm for Vietnam which has so far failed to attract major overseas capital in data centres due to its patchy infrastructure, with large tech companies preferring to house their centres in rival nations in the region. It was not clear how quickly Google will reach a decision on an investment but the source said internal talks are on and the data centre could be ready in 2027. A spokesperson for Google declined to comment about the data centre plan. Hyperscale centres are the largest in the industry, with power consumption usually similar to that of a big city. A hyperscale data centre with power consumption capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) could cost between $300 million and $650 million, according to estimates based on data published by real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle in a report this year on data centres in Vietnam. Google's move was motivated by the large number of its domestic and foreign cloud services clients in Vietnam and the country's expanding digital economy, the source said, noting the Southeast Asian nation was one of the fastest-growing markets for YouTube, Google's popular online video sharing platform. Currently the top data centre operators in Vietnam, based on computing space, are industrial investment firm IDC Becamex and telecommunications company VNPT, both Vietnamese state-owned enterprises, according to an internal market report by an industrial park in Vietnam seen by Reuters. The Nikkei reported in May that Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba was considering building a data centre in Vietnam. Alibaba did not reply to a request for comment. GROWTH STRATEGY Despite growing demand for digital services from Vietnam's 100 million population, foreign investors in the sector have largely shunned the country because of occasional power shortages, less attractive investment incentives and weak internet infrastructure which relies on a handful of ageing subsea cables, according to industry experts. In Southeast Asia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are well ahead in the industry, and have attracted far bigger investments from global tech giants. Google said in May it will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to develop its first data centre and Google Cloud region in the country. Unattractive regulations on foreign ownership and data localisation have also long been a hurdle, but in a reform approved in November Vietnamese legislators decided to allow overseas data centre operators to retain full ownership. Vietnam has strict cybersecurity rules and has long clashed with foreign tech companies about storing data in the country - a requirement that it has, however, not regularly enforced. Undeterred, Google is opening a representative office in Vietnam, and is already hiring dozens of engineers, marketing experts and other professionals, according to ads on LinkedIn. "We now have a team on the ground to better serve our Vietnam-based advertising customers and support the country's digital transformation," a spokesperson for Google told Reuters. Google is also offering 40,000 scholarships in Vietnam for basic AI courses and $350,000 each for 20 selected AI startups, Google Vietnam Managing Director Marc Woo said on LinkedIn last month. The company already has a large network of suppliers in Vietnam that assemble its products, including Pixel smartphones.

Google weighs large data centre in Vietnam, in nation's first by US big tech

By Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio HANOI - Alphabet's Google is considering building a large data centre in Vietnam, a person briefed on the plans said, in what would be the first such investment by a big U.S. technology company in the Southeast Asian nation. Google is weighing setting up a "hyperscale" data centre close to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's southern economic hub, the source said, declining to be named because the information is not public. The investment, the size of which the source did not specify, would be a shot in the arm for Vietnam which has so far failed to attract major overseas capital in data centres due to its patchy infrastructure, with large tech companies preferring to house their centres in rival nations in the region. It was not clear how quickly Google will reach a decision on an investment but the source said internal talks are on and the data centre could be ready in 2027. A spokesperson for Google declined to comment about the data centre plan. Hyperscale centres are the largest in the industry, with power consumption usually similar to that of a big city. A hyperscale data centre with power consumption capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) could cost between $300 million and $650 million, according to estimates based on data published by real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle in a report this year on data centres in Vietnam. Google's move was motivated by the large number of its domestic and foreign cloud services clients in Vietnam and the country's expanding digital economy, the source said, noting the Southeast Asian nation was one of the fastest-growing markets for YouTube, Google's popular online video sharing platform. Currently the top data centre operators in Vietnam, based on computing space, are industrial investment firm IDC Becamex and telecommunications company VNPT, both Vietnamese state-owned enterprises, according to an internal market report by an industrial park in Vietnam seen by Reuters. The Nikkei reported in May that Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba was considering building a data centre in Vietnam. Alibaba did not reply to a request for comment. GROWTH STRATEGY Despite growing demand for digital services from Vietnam's 100 million population, foreign investors in the sector have largely shunned the country because of occasional power shortages, less attractive investment incentives and weak internet infrastructure which relies on a handful of ageing subsea cables, according to industry experts. In Southeast Asia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are well ahead in the industry, and have attracted far bigger investments from global tech giants. Google said in May it will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to develop its first data centre and Google Cloud region in the country. Unattractive regulations on foreign ownership and data localisation have also long been a hurdle, but in a reform approved in November Vietnamese legislators decided to allow overseas data centre operators to retain full ownership. Vietnam has strict cybersecurity rules and has long clashed with foreign tech companies about storing data in the country - a requirement that it has, however, not regularly enforced. Undeterred, Google is opening a representative office in Vietnam, and is already hiring dozens of engineers, marketing experts and other professionals, according to ads on LinkedIn. "We now have a team on the ground to better serve our Vietnam-based advertising customers and support the country's digital transformation," a spokesperson for Google told Reuters. Google is also offering 40,000 scholarships in Vietnam for basic AI courses and $350,000 each for 20 selected AI startups, Google Vietnam Managing Director Marc Woo said on LinkedIn last month. The company already has a large network of suppliers in Vietnam that assemble its products, including Pixel smartphones.

Google weighs large data centre in Vietnam, source says, in nation's first by US big tech

HANOI (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google is considering building a large data centre in Vietnam, a person briefed on the plans said, in what would be the first such investment by a big U.S. technology company in the Southeast Asian nation. Google is weighing setting up a "hyperscale" data centre close to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's southern economic hub, the source said, declining to be named because the information is not public. The investment, the size of which the source did not specify, would be a shot in the arm for Vietnam which has so far failed to attract major overseas capital in data centres due to its patchy infrastructure, with large tech companies preferring to house their centres in rival nations in the region. It was not clear how quickly Google will reach a decision on an investment but the source said internal talks are on and the data centre could be ready in 2027. A spokesperson for Google declined to comment about the data centre plan. Hyperscale centres are the largest in the industry, with power consumption usually similar to that of a big city. A hyperscale data centre with power consumption capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) could cost between $300 million and $650 million, according to estimates based on data published by real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle in a report this year on data centres in Vietnam. Google's move was motivated by the large number of its domestic and foreign cloud services clients in Vietnam and the country's expanding digital economy, the source said, noting the Southeast Asian nation was one of the fastest-growing markets for YouTube, Google's popular online video sharing platform. Currently the top data centre operators in Vietnam, based on computing space, are industrial investment firm IDC Becamex and telecommunications company VNPT, both Vietnamese state-owned enterprises, according to an internal market report by an industrial park in Vietnam seen by Reuters. The Nikkei reported in May that Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba was considering building a data centre in Vietnam. Alibaba did not reply to a request for comment. GROWTH STRATEGY Despite growing demand for digital services from Vietnam's 100 million population, foreign investors in the sector have largely shunned the country because of occasional power shortages, less attractive investment incentives and weak internet infrastructure which relies on a handful of ageing subsea cables, according to industry experts. In Southeast Asia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are well ahead in the industry, and have attracted far bigger investments from global tech giants. Google said in May it will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to develop its first data centre and Google Cloud region in the country. Unattractive regulations on foreign ownership and data localisation have also long been a hurdle, but in a reform approved in November Vietnamese legislators decided to allow overseas data centre operators to retain full ownership. Vietnam has strict cybersecurity rules and has long clashed with foreign tech companies about storing data in the country - a requirement that it has, however, not regularly enforced. Undeterred, Google is opening a representative office in Vietnam, and is already hiring dozens of engineers, marketing experts and other professionals, according to ads on LinkedIn. "We now have a team on the ground to better serve our Vietnam-based advertising customers and support the country's digital transformation," a spokesperson for Google told Reuters. Google is also offering 40,000 scholarships in Vietnam for basic AI courses and $350,000 each for 20 selected AI startups, Google Vietnam Managing Director Marc Woo said on LinkedIn last month. The company already has a large network of suppliers in Vietnam that assemble its products, including Pixel smartphones. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Google weighs large data centre in Vietnam, source says, in nation's first by U.S. big tech

Alphabet's Google is considering building a large data centre in Vietnam, a person briefed on the plans said, in what would be the first such investment by a big U.S. technology company in the Southeast Asian nation. Google is weighing setting up a "hyperscale" data centre close to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's southern economic hub, the source said, declining to be named because the information is not public. The investment, the size of which the source did not specify, would be a shot in the arm for Vietnam which has so far failed to attract major overseas capital in data centres due to its patchy infrastructure, with large tech companies preferring to house their centres in rival nations in the region. It was not clear how quickly Google will reach a decision on an investment but the source said internal talks are on and the data centre could be ready in 2027. A spokesperson for Google declined to comment about the data centre plan. Hyperscale centres are the largest in the industry, with power consumption usually similar to that of a big city. A hyperscale data centre with power consumption capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) could cost between $300 million and $650 million, according to estimates based on data published by real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle in a report this year on data centres in Vietnam. Google's move was motivated by the large number of its domestic and foreign cloud services clients in Vietnam and the country's expanding digital economy, the source said, noting the Southeast Asian nation was one of the fastest-growing markets for YouTube, Google's popular online video sharing platform. Currently the top data centre operators in Vietnam, based on computing space, are industrial investment firm IDC Becamex and telecommunications company VNPT, both Vietnamese state-owned enterprises, according to an internal market report by an industrial park in Vietnam seen by Reuters. The Nikkei reported in May that Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba was considering building a data centre in Vietnam. Alibaba did not reply to a request for comment. Growth strategy Despite growing demand for digital services from Vietnam's 100 million population, foreign investors in the sector have largely shunned the country because of occasional power shortages, less attractive investment incentives and weak internet infrastructure which relies on a handful of ageing subsea cables, according to industry experts. In Southeast Asia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are well ahead in the industry, and have attracted far bigger investments from global tech giants. Google said in May it will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to develop its first data centre and Google Cloud region in the country. Unattractive regulations on foreign ownership and data localisation have also long been a hurdle, but in a reform approved in November Vietnamese legislators decided to allow overseas data centre operators to retain full ownership. Vietnam has strict cybersecurity rules and has long clashed with foreign tech companies about storing data in the country - a requirement that it has, however, not regularly enforced. Undeterred, Google is opening a representative office in Vietnam, and is already hiring dozens of engineers, marketing experts and other professionals, according to ads on LinkedIn. "We now have a team on the ground to better serve our Vietnam-based advertising customers and support the country's digital transformation," a spokesperson for Google told Reuters. Google is also offering 40,000 scholarships in Vietnam for basic AI courses and $350,000 each for 20 selected AI startups, Google Vietnam Managing Director Marc Woo said on LinkedIn last month. The company already has a large network of suppliers in Vietnam that assemble its products, including Pixel smartphones. Read Comments

Google weighs large data centre in Vietnam, source says, in nation's first by US big tech

The investment, the size of which the source did not specify, would be a shot in the arm for Vietnam which has so far failed to attract major overseas capital in data centres due to its patchy infrastructure, with large tech companies preferring to house their centres in rival nations in the region. It was not clear how quickly Google will reach a decision on an investment but the source said internal talks are on and the data centre could be ready in 2027. A spokesperson for Google declined to comment about the data centre plan. Hyperscale centres are the largest in the industry, with power consumption usually similar to that of a big city. A hyperscale data centre with power consumption capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) could cost between $300 million and $650 million, according to estimates based on data published by real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle in a report this year on data centres in Vietnam. Google's move was motivated by the large number of its domestic and foreign cloud services clients in Vietnam and the country's expanding digital economy, the source said, noting the Southeast Asian nation was one of the fastest-growing markets for YouTube, Google's popular online video sharing platform. Currently the top data centre operators in Vietnam, based on computing space, are industrial investment firm IDC Becamex and telecommunications company VNPT, both Vietnamese state-owned enterprises, according to an internal market report by an industrial park in Vietnam seen by Reuters. The Nikkei reported in May that Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba was considering building a data centre in Vietnam. Alibaba did not reply to a request for comment. GROWTH STRATEGY Despite growing demand for digital services from Vietnam's 100 million population, foreign investors in the sector have largely shunned the country because of occasional power shortages, less attractive investment incentives and weak internet infrastructure which relies on a handful of ageing subsea cables, according to industry experts. In Southeast Asia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are well ahead in the industry, and have attracted far bigger investments from global tech giants. Google said in May it will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to develop its first data centre and Google Cloud region in the country. Unattractive regulations on foreign ownership and data localisation have also long been a hurdle, but in a reform approved in November Vietnamese legislators decided to allow overseas data centre operators to retain full ownership. Vietnam has strict cybersecurity rules and has long clashed with foreign tech companies about storing data in the country - a requirement that it has, however, not regularly enforced. Undeterred, Google is opening a representative office in Vietnam, and is already hiring dozens of engineers, marketing experts and other professionals, according to ads on LinkedIn. "We now have a team on the ground to better serve our Vietnam-based advertising customers and support the country's digital transformation," a spokesperson for Google told Reuters. Google is also offering 40,000 scholarships in Vietnam for basic AI courses and $350,000 each for 20 selected AI startups, Google Vietnam Managing Director Marc Woo said on LinkedIn last month. The company already has a large network of suppliers in Vietnam that assemble its products, including Pixel smartphones. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Google weighs large data centre in Vietnam, source says, in nation's first by US big tech

HANOI, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google is considering building a large data centre in Vietnam, a person briefed on the plans said, in what would be the first such investment by a big U.S. technology company in the Southeast Asian nation. Google is weighing setting up a "hyperscale" data centre close to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's southern economic hub, the source said, declining to be named because the information is not public. The investment, the size of which the source did not specify, would be a shot in the arm for Vietnam which has so far failed to attract major overseas capital in data centres due to its patchy infrastructure, with large tech companies preferring to house their centres in rival nations in the region. It was not clear how quickly Google will reach a decision on an investment but the source said internal talks are on and the data centre could be ready in 2027. A spokesperson for Google declined to comment about the data centre plan. Hyperscale centres are the largest in the industry, with power consumption usually similar to that of a big city. A hyperscale data centre with power consumption capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) could cost between $300 million and $650 million, according to estimates based on data published by real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle in a report this year on data centres in Vietnam. Google's move was motivated by the large number of its domestic and foreign cloud services clients in Vietnam and the country's expanding digital economy, the source said, noting the Southeast Asian nation was one of the fastest-growing markets for YouTube, Google's popular online video sharing platform. Currently the top data centre operators in Vietnam, based on computing space, are industrial investment firm IDC Becamex and telecommunications company VNPT, both Vietnamese state-owned enterprises, according to an internal market report by an industrial park in Vietnam seen by Reuters. The Nikkei reported in May that Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba (9988.HK), opens new tab was considering building a data centre in Vietnam. Alibaba did not reply to a request for comment. GROWTH STRATEGY Despite growing demand for digital services from Vietnam's 100 million population, foreign investors in the sector have largely shunned the country because of occasional power shortages, less attractive investment incentives and weak internet infrastructure which relies on a handful of ageing subsea cables, according to industry experts. In Southeast Asia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are well ahead in the industry, and have attracted far bigger investments from global tech giants. Google said in May it will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to develop its first data centre and Google Cloud region in the country. Unattractive regulations on foreign ownership and data localisation have also long been a hurdle, but in a reform approved in November Vietnamese legislators decided to allow overseas data centre operators to retain full ownership. Vietnam has strict cybersecurity rules and has long clashed with foreign tech companies about storing data in the country - a requirement that it has, however, not regularly enforced. Undeterred, Google is opening a representative office in Vietnam, and is already hiring dozens of engineers, marketing experts and other professionals, according to ads on LinkedIn. "We now have a team on the ground to better serve our Vietnam-based advertising customers and support the country's digital transformation," a spokesperson for Google told Reuters. Google is also offering 40,000 scholarships in Vietnam for basic AI courses and $350,000 each for 20 selected AI startups, Google Vietnam Managing Director Marc Woo said on LinkedIn last month. The company already has a large network of suppliers in Vietnam that assemble its products, including Pixel smartphones. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Francesco Guarascio Thomson Reuters Francesco leads a team of reporters in Vietnam that covers top financial and political news in the fast-growing southeast Asian country with a focus on supply chains and manufacturing investments in several sectors, including electronics, semiconductors, automotive and renewables. Before Hanoi, Francesco worked in Brussels on EU affairs. He was also part of Reuters core global team that covered the COVID-19 pandemic and participated in investigations into money laundering and corruption in Europe. He is an eager traveler, always keen to put on a backpack to explore new places.