Thailand's Gulf Development and Singapore's Singtel have agreed to invest in a new Vietnam-Thailand-Singapore submarine cable system, a strategic partnership aimed at meeting surging demand for cloud, AI and data-center services across Southeast Asia.
The two companies said in separate statements on Thursday that they reached the strategic partnership agreement on Wednesday. They did not disclose the investment size, saying capital spending would be spread over several years. Their first joint project is the Vietnam-Thailand-Singapore (VTS) Cable System, a new subsea link that the partners expect to become operational by 2030.
The partnership combines Gulf's infrastructure and digital businesses with Singtel's submarine-cable operations, with the goal of providing higher-capacity international connectivity for data centers, cloud providers and AI services across the region. It builds on existing collaboration between Gulf and Singtel in Thailand in the telecommunications and data-center sectors.
Singtel in Singapore and its Thai associate, Advanced Info Service (AIS), will draw on their networks and customer reach to support the system's development and commercialization. Gulf and Singtel said they could also consider terrestrial and other subsea cables in the future.
Sarath Ratanavadi, chief executive of Gulf Development, called the tie-up an important step in the company's digital-infrastructure strategy and in Thailand's ambition to become a leading digital and AI economy. Yuen Kuan Moon, Singtel's group chief executive, said the partnership would deepen cable links between the two countries to meet growing cloud, AI and data-center demand.
The VTS name and route match the Vietnam-Singapore cable that Vietnam's Viettel and Singtel launched in April 2024, under which Viettel manages the landing station in Vietnam and Thailand features as a branch connection alongside Cambodia and Malaysia. Gulf and Singtel described their project as a new link and expect it to operate by 2030, later than the second quarter of 2027 timeline that Viettel and Singtel originally targeted.
Gulf Development, listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, is a Thai energy and infrastructure group expanding into data centres and digital services. Singtel is a Singapore-based telecommunications group, while Viettel is Vietnam's largest telecommunications and technology company. The new cable system underscores the intensifying race to build digital infrastructure in Southeast Asia, where rapid adoption of AI and cloud computing is straining existing connectivity and data-center capacity.
Thailand's Gulf and Singapore's Singtel to Invest in Vietnam-Thailand-Singapore Submarine Cable
By: IDCNOVARegion: Southeast Asia