BANGKOK, November 8, 2026 — Thailand and Indonesia have halted billions of dollars in datacentre projects to enforce sovereignty and energy limits, forcing Big Tech to negotiate on local terms. This strategic pause in Southeast Asia’s datacentre arms race comes as the region emerges as a surprise centre of growth in the Asia Pacific, with about 50% of the region’s under-construction datacentre capacity.
Background And History
Southeast Asia has become a key player in the global datacentre market, driven by the rise of AI usage and the need for more computing power. According to a 2026 report by Cushman and Wakefield, Malaysia and Thailand comprise a large portion of the region’s under-construction datacentre capacity. Singapore, which was once the leading datacentre hub in Southeast Asia, implemented a moratorium on new datacentres from 2019 to 2022 due to land and energy constraints. This led to a redirection of investment to neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.
The Current State Of Play
Thailand’s Board of Investment had approved projects from TikTok, UAE-based Skyline Datacentres, and Singapore’s Bridge Datacentres totalling $27 billion in early 2026. However, the country has since paused construction on 49 datacentre projects and approval decisions on 117 more due to insufficient regulatory details. Indonesia’s West Java governor has also halted construction on a datacentre due to lack of permits and an incomplete environmental assessment. These moves are seen as a pushback against the rapid expansion of datacentres in the region, with concerns over energy consumption, environmental impact, and sovereignty.
What It Means For Communities
The pause in datacentre projects in Southeast Asia means that Big Tech companies will have to negotiate with local governments on their terms. This could lead to stricter regulations and higher costs for companies looking to set up datacentres in the region. For communities across the region, this means that they will have more control over the development of datacentres and can ensure that their concerns are heard. As Nick Tsergas, an activist and researcher, noted, a moratorium on new datacentres would “give governments time to actually study the issue and see what they’re dealing with.”
Global Demand And Investment
Despite the pause in Southeast Asia, global demand for datacentres remains unchanged. The US midterm elections saw voters back restrictions on datacentres in 40 of 41 local ballot measures across 10 states, which could lead to a redirection of investment to compliant jurisdictions. According to Goldman Sachs, 45% of planned US datacentre buildout could face restrictions, which could lead to an increase in prices and a redirection of capital to where infrastructure can be built. As Alexander Wissner-Gross, an AI researcher and investor, noted, “if supply of compute is going to be restricted, demand certainly doesn’t seem to be going down… One would expect the price of compute to go up.”
Sources
- ORCA Computing
- The datacentre arms race hits pause in south-east Asia
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Photo: Frans Berkelaar (CC BY 2.0)
