Three hyperscaler investors, one with a project valued at $800 million, are keen on entering the Philippine market, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said two of these companies, one American and one Chinese, are likely to firm up their investment this year. The third is a single company.
No names were disclosed but Rodolfo said currently, the agency is in discussion with hyperscalers from the US and China. Familiar names include Microsoft Aszure and AWS, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud among others.
Rodolfo added the DTI is also in talks with Tier 2 hyperscalers or those which can come in the Philippines to co-locate with the country’s data center service providers such as PLDT Inc., Globe Telecom, Converge, DITO Telecommunity Corp and other telco companies.
“First of all since this is a new industry (discussions) range from exploratory to advanced.
I’m pretty sure within this year, we could have at least one Chinese hyperscaler and at least one US hyperscaler (which are) looking at the green energy market here as main driver as well as the data privacy and data regulatory framework in the Philippines.”
Ceferino said at the virtual launch of a campaign promoting the Philippines as the next strategic hyperscaler hub in Asia-Pacific
He added “We are actually in fact targeting hyperscalers in particular those which are very conscious in reducing their carbon footprint and also our potential source of co-investment in renewable energy,”
Hyperscalers provide cloud, networking, and internet services at scale by offering organizations access to infrastructure. They act as enablers of various industries and the backbone of digital-native industries such as financial technology and digital banking.. The investments of hyperscalers on tools and intellectual property will result in cheaper access to cloud technology which will extend and enhance the customer’s capabilities. (M. Iglesias and I. Isip)
