BOI: India’s 20-year 0% data centre tax cut will not dent Thai investment

Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Secretary-General of the Board of Investment (BOI), said India’s newly announced policy to promote domestic data centre investment—offering investors a 0% tax rate for 20 years to attract major players—has not, at this stage, affected Thailand. 

He said the BOI will stay in close contact with investors to monitor developments.

Narit said investors remain confident in Thailand’s strengths and readiness, particularly its key infrastructure for data centre investment. He cited the country’s clean energy potential, water supply systems, high-speed internet networks, and government support measures. 

He added that Thailand’s position as a non-belligerent party in global geopolitical conflicts is also a factor influencing investment decisions.

He said Thailand is not competing to attract data centres by focusing on volume. Instead, it prioritises project quality, efficiency in water and electricity use, and broader benefits for the country—such as upgrading Thais’ digital skills, developing Thai SMEs, and promoting Thai businesses within the domestic supply chain.

Data centre investment in Thailand continues to rise. At a BOI board meeting on January 15, the board approved seven data centre projects with a combined investment value of more than 96 billion baht.

In 2025, applications for BOI investment promotion in data centre businesses totalled 36 projects, with combined investment value of 728 billion baht. Most projects were located in key industrial and economic zones: Rayong (33%), Chonburi (32%), and Samut Prakan (12%), with the remainder spread across Pathum Thani, Chachoengsao, and Bangkok.

The investments include large-scale projects from both Thai and foreign operators, such as Zenith Data Centre and Cloud Services, a hyperscale data centre project from the UK; Galaxy Peak Data Centre from Singapore; Thai DC 1, a Thai operator; and Telehouse (Thailand), part of Japan’s KDDI group.

The rising investment momentum is being driven by rapid advances in digital technology. Organisations worldwide are accelerating their transition to the digital era by adopting key technologies such as cloud computing, AI, and the Internet of Things (IoT). 

Meanwhile, consumers are increasingly using digital platforms for work, education, buying and selling goods and services, and entertainment—raising demand for stable and secure data storage and processing systems. 

As a result, data centres, cloud services, and related infrastructure have become essential to powering the digital economy. 

The decision by leading data centre operators to invest in Thailand reflects global investor confidence and is expected to support digital-economy growth, particularly in finance and e-commerce.

To ensure Thailand fully benefits from data centre investment, the BOI tightened its investment promotion criteria in late 2025. 

Key requirements include hiring Thai personnel in management and specialist roles at no less than 50% within three years, and requiring projects to undertake activities that develop domestic human resources and the local ecosystem—such as staff training, joint curriculum development with educational institutions, research and development, upskilling Thai SMEs, and strengthening domestic supply chains.

Projects must complete these plans before becoming eligible to use corporate income tax exemption benefits. Additional requirements include electricity efficiency standards (PUE) and proper water management. 

The BOI has also introduced differentiated incentives by location, offering higher benefits to projects outside the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) to reduce the concentration of electricity demand in the EEC and support more balanced regional development.