The year 2025 is considered a pivotal milestone for Thailand's digital economy as the country successfully attracted investments in data centers and digital infrastructure that increased more than sevenfold within a single year.
Data from the Board of Investment (BOI) indicates that in 2025, there were 36 applications for investment promotion in data center projects totaling 728 billion baht, compared to the previous year's total investment value of 98.539 billion baht. These investments are distributed across strategic industrial and logistics areas such as Rayong, Chonburi, Pathum Thani, and Samut Prakan, involving both Thai and foreign investors, including hyperscale projects from Europe, Singapore, Japan, and the United States.
For the first batch of 2026, the BOI has already approved seven data center investment projects totaling over 96 billion baht, which include:
The BOI notes that growth in cloud computing, AI, IoT, and digital platforms has made data centers a new economic infrastructure, comparable to roads, ports, or airports in the past, and a key factor linking to other advanced industries, including fintech, e-commerce, automation, and smart industries.
Simultaneously, the government has tightened investment promotion conditions, emphasizing employment of Thai personnel and SME skill development, improving energy efficiency standards (PUE), water management, and developing the domestic ecosystem to ensure investments generate long-term added value rather than merely establishing data processing centers.
This significant capital inflow reflects confidence in Thailand's digital infrastructure and ecosystem, enabling the government to advance a major new strategic plan: “Made-in-Thailand Chips” aiming to elevate Thailand from a manufacturing base to a player in the global technology supply chain.
Recently, the National Semiconductor and Advanced Electronics Industry Policy Board considered the “draft national semiconductor roadmap” for the first time, targeting Thailand as a regional hub for chip design and manufacturing under the vision “Made-in-Thailand Chips” by 2050. This roadmap was developed by the global consultancy Roland Berger, in collaboration with government agencies and private sectors domestically and internationally.
The plan aims to attract over 2.5 trillion baht in investment over 25 years (2026–2050) and develop more than 230,000 high-skilled personnel, leveraging Thailand's existing strengths in electronics, automotive, data centers, and automation industries.
An assessment comparing Thailand's potential with regional leaders and competitors such as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines found that although Thailand's semiconductor industry is still nascent, it has opportunities to build upon existing strengths in infrastructure, human resources, and downstream industries.
Specifically, Thailand has high potential in five chip product groups: Power, Sensor, Photonics, Analog, and Discrete chips, which are used in key Thai industries like automotive, electronics, telecommunications, data centers, AI technology, automation, and medical sectors. The strategy focuses on these niches rather than competing directly with giants like TSMC or Samsung.
This draft strategy plans to develop the industry across the entire supply chain, from upstream to downstream. In the first five years, it will emphasize advancing sectors where Thailand is prepared, such as chip assembly and testing (OSAT), integrated circuit design (IC Design), and advanced electronics, while initiating wafer fabrication investments and fostering Thai entrepreneurs to become local champions to drive implementation.
The draft strategy proposes five main mechanisms:
The semiconductor industry is a globally strategic sector with rapid growth, expected to reach a market size of one trillion US dollars by 2030, and will serve as a new engine to enhance Thailand's long-term competitiveness.
The BOI report adds that several leading semiconductor companies have chosen Thailand as a production base, including Infineon (Germany's top chip maker), Analog Devices, Microchip Technology, and Lumentum (USA), NXP Semiconductor (Netherlands), Sony, Toshiba, Rohm (Japan), and Fiti (part of Foxconn) specializing in precision equipment for semiconductor manufacturing from Taiwan.
Over recent years, Thailand has been one of the world's key electronics manufacturing bases. The combination of hundred-billion-baht data center investments and a long-term semiconductor roadmap is viewed as a structural turning point, transforming Thailand from a contract manufacturer to a technology creator and adding value in the new global economy.
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