Southeast Asia Is Looking Mighty Fine to China’s Data Center Firms

Chinese data center firms are ramping up their overseas expansion to ride the artificial intelligence (AI) wave, especially in Southeast Asia, said a senior executive at GDS Holdings Ltd., one of the country’s largest data center operators.

While traditional computing requires proximity to the end-use market, AI computing power is more oriented towards natural resources, and Southeast Asia has both resources and cost advantages, said Jimmy Yu, senior vice president of international business at GDS in an interview with Caixin on July 27.