ASEAN is rapidly emerging as a global hotspot for data center investment. While traditional hubs like Singapore face constraints, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand are seeing unprecedented investment inflows from major cloud providers, hyperscalers and industrial. ASEAN Guide for Sustainable Data Centre Development is a strategic document designed for policymakers and regulators to navigate the rapid growth of digital infrastructure in Southeast Asia while ensuring economic competitiveness and climate resilience. The region's digital economy is expanding. Artificial intelligence (AI) is fuelling an unprecedented surge in data demand – and Southeast Asia is not yet ready to meet this challenge. Across industries such as manufacturing, mobility, and logistics, next-generation AI applications are starting to replace traditional sensors with. The ASEAN digital economy is expected to reach a value of USD 1 trillion by 2050, showcasing the vast opportunities for growth and investment in the region. Data centers are an integral part of the infrastructure for market digitalisation and economic growth. 8 million in 2024 to an estimated USD 7,788. This is an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 20.
