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February 10, 2026

Data Center Investments under Thailand’s Updated Incentive Criteria

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Data center and cloud investments are forming a major focus of private-sector investment in Thailand, with tech giants like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and TikTok, as well as numerous telecom and data center companies, committing significant outlays to data center and cloud development. The country’s Board of Investment (BOI) approved projects worth THB 1.87 trillion in 2025, and THB 746 billion of this was from planned data center investments—by far the largest amount from any single industry.

Thailand’s swift rise as a regional data center hub is fueled by surging demand for cloud, AI, and digital services, as well as large-scale investments from global tech firms. The country’s strategic location, competitive power costs, robust fiber infrastructure, expanding IT talent, and supportive government policies—including BOI incentives and streamlined approvals—have made it an attractive destination for scalable and sustainable digital infrastructure investments. The BOI’s proactive approach in updating promoted categories and providing both tax and non-tax incentives further ensures Thailand’s continued growth in this sector.

2025 BOI Changes for Data Centers

In the middle of 2025, the BOI responded to the remarkable trend by updating investment‑promotion categories across various sectors (e.g., machinery and electrical equipment, public utilities, digital and innovative industries) to accommodate growing investment in data‑center projects.

Before the change, which was detailed in a notification that has applied to investment promotion applications submitted from July 1, 2025, onward, data‑center projects under BOI promotion were granted a single A1 incentive (an eight‑year corporate income‑tax exemption) and subject to one uniform set of conditions.

The July 2025 notification restructured promotion for data centers into two categories based on power‑usage efficiency: high‑efficiency data centers and other data centers. Under these rules, qualified high‑efficiency data centers are eligible for an eight‑year corporate income tax (CIT) exemption, while for other data centers this exemption is five years. Both exemptions are capped at 100% of the project’s investment value as defined by the BOI.

Whether a data center is considered “high efficiency” or “other” depends on its power usage effectiveness (PUE), the planned efficiency of its water usage, and its ability to demonstrate tangible benefits for Thailand, such as in areas of training, research development, and supporting domestic capability and supply chains, among others.

The extensive list of other conditions that data centers must meet in order to seek BOI incentives continues to apply to all data center projects.

Outlook

Investors pursuing data center projects in Thailand should carefully assess project plans and operations against the current BOI criteria, particularly for those aiming to qualify for the higher corporate income tax exemption. Projects targeting this enhanced incentive should validate design and operational plans to ensure they meet the PUE and sustainability requirements under the prevailing investment promotion framework. Staying fully informed and seeking up-to-date guidance on these criteria will help ensure projects are structured for maximum benefit and regulatory compliance.

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