logo
Alibaba expands AI cloud services in Malaysia, Philippines

Alibaba expands AI cloud services in Malaysia, Philippines

Bangkok Post02-07-2025
TAIPEI — Alibaba Group Holding Limited is adding new data centres in Malaysia and the Philippines in pursuit of growth driven by artificial intelligence (AI).
The Hangzhou-based company's cloud unit launched its third data centre in Malaysia this week and it also plans to open its second data centre in the Philippines in October, it said in a statement released Wednesday.
Alibaba Cloud also said it is launching a global competency centre in Singapore to help accelerate AI adoption across industries. It said the centre would help more than 5,000 businesses and 100,000 developers access advanced AI models.
Best known for its e-commerce operations in China, Alibaba has been charging into AI, building standalone offerings around its Qwen AI models and growing its cloud services. It has also announced infrastructure investments in Thailand, Mexico and South Korea.
In the wake of DeepSeek's emergence on the global stage, Alibaba Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu declared in February the company's "primary objective" is now artificial general intelligence, a goal in the industry to build AI systems with human-level intellectual capabilities.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Betagro Ventures Backs BiomEdit's Breakthrough Poultry Health Solution
Betagro Ventures Backs BiomEdit's Breakthrough Poultry Health Solution

Bangkok Post

time8 hours ago

  • Bangkok Post

Betagro Ventures Backs BiomEdit's Breakthrough Poultry Health Solution

Bangkok, August 14, 2025 – Betagro Public Company Limited (BTG), a leading integrated food company in Thailand, through its venture arm Betagro Ventures, has partnered with global allies to fund BiomEdit, a US-based animal health biotechnology innovator, in its Series B round. The investment will support BE-101, BiomEdit's lead candidate for preventing necrotic enteritis (NE)-related mortality in broiler chickens, aiming to sustainably improve poultry production efficiency. BE-101, to be marketed as Optavant™ upon full licensure, is the first probiotic vectored antibody (pvAb™) product designed to help poultry producers combat NE by neutralising Clostridium perfringens toxins. This non-antibiotic solution addresses a disease responsible for an estimated US$6 billion in global annual losses from reduced productivity, illness, and mortality. The product is in the final phase of the US Department of Agriculture's conditional licensure process and is set for commercial launch in 2026. Chayadhorn Taepaisitphongse, President – Animal Nutrition & New Ventures at Betagro, said: 'We are proud to support BiomEdit in advancing its cutting-edge biologics platform and bringing a first-of-its-kind animal health solution to market. This partnership underscores our commitment to innovation-driven solutions that address emerging animal disease challenges, meet market needs, enhance animal health, boost productivity across the livestock industry, and drive sustainable industry growth. Furthermore, it gives us access to leading advancements in novel feed and animal health products, acting as a catalyst for co-developing future innovations.' BiomEdit announced the successful close of its Series B financing, led by Anterra Capital with follow-on investment from Nutreco. Betagro Ventures was among the new participants in this oversubscribed ~US$18.4 million round, which also included AgriZeroNZ and Indiana's Elevate Ventures, providing sufficient capital to fund BiomEdit through conditional licensure and into the commercial launch of BE-101. 'This is an exciting chapter for BiomEdit,' said Aaron Schacht, CEO of BiomEdit. 'We are bringing a transformational poultry solution to US broiler producers and advancing sustainable livestock production. In just three years since our founding, we are poised to deliver products to market, supported by new financing and investor partnerships, including Betagro Ventures, and well-positioned for the opportunities ahead.'

Analysts expect baht to test 32 as US dollar weakens further
Analysts expect baht to test 32 as US dollar weakens further

Bangkok Post

timea day ago

  • Bangkok Post

Analysts expect baht to test 32 as US dollar weakens further

The baht could appreciate to test 32 to the US dollar or strengthen even further, as the greenback is set to weaken further amid mounting pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut the US interest rate at its September meeting, according to analysts. Following the Bank of Thailand's (BoT) policy rate cut of 25 basis points (bps), which would typically weaken the Thai currency, the baht moved in a range of 32.24-26 to the dollar in morning trade on Thursday, compared with Wednesday's close of 32.31 baht in offshore markets, according to Kasikorn Research Centre (K-Research). Most Asian currencies jumped on Thursday, led by the Indonesian rupiah and Malaysian ringgit, as the US dollar slipped to multi-week lows. 'The baht and other regional currencies, along with the world's major currencies, gained strength amid heavy selling of the dollar and a weakening US bond yield, both of which are pressured by the expectation that the Fed will cut rates at its September meeting,' said Kanjana Chockpisansin, head of the research, banking and financial sector at K-Research. The market is putting the odds of a cut of 25 bps at the Fed's Sept 16-17 meeting at 99.9%, according to the CME FedWatch tool, following Tuesday's release of inflation data, she said. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there is a possibility the Fed could cut interest rates by as much as 0.50% at the September meeting, considering the weakening employment figures. He also suggested the central bank's benchmark ought to be at least 1.5 percentage points lower than it is now. On Wednesday, the BoT highlighted the recent strength of the baht against regional currencies as an issue worth monitoring, as it affects the competitiveness of the country's export and tourism sectors. The baht is projected to appreciate further for the rest of the year, to 31.5 against the greenback, said Kuala Lumpur-based Maybank Securities. According to K-Research, the baht has appreciated 5.6% year-to-date, compared with a 7.5% gain for the yen and a 1.8% uptick for the yuan. The Philippine peso and rupiah strengthened by 1.3% and 0.3%, respectively, while the ringgit gained 6.5%. 'We see a possibility the baht can hit a range of 32.00-32.10 to the dollar from now until the year-end,' said Ms Kanjana, adding that Kasikornbank is maintaining its projection for the baht of 33.7 to the dollar at the end of 2025.

Delta Electronics says AI will fuel ‘double-digit' growth
Delta Electronics says AI will fuel ‘double-digit' growth

Bangkok Post

timea day ago

  • Bangkok Post

Delta Electronics says AI will fuel ‘double-digit' growth

Delta Electronics (Thailand) Plc is predicting 'double-digit' sales growth to continue for at least the next two years on rising demand for AI-related technology, says chief executive officer Victor Cheng. The SET-listed maker of components for data centres and electric vehicles is increasing investment to fuel its expansion, Mr Cheng said in an interview. The company also plans to raise its sales forecast for the second half 2025, he said, without disclosing the estimate. AI-related products, such as networking and data-centre power equipment, will account for half of Delta Thailand's sales by the end of the year, up from 42% in the latest quarter, the company forecasts. Thailand's biggest listed company by market capitalisation is among the Southeast Asian suppliers benefiting as customers including Nvidia expand in the region and beyond to tap rising demand for services such as generative artificial intelligence. 'All the applications involving AI will continue to grow,' Mr Cheng said. 'This business is not slowing down.' Among challenges is a US tariff of 19% on imports of Thai goods, though Mr Cheng said he isn't too worried as the company can 'pretty much pass on all the tariffs to customers'. The US accounts for as much as 35% of Delta Thailand's sales, he said. Second-half performance will benefit from a refund of some of the tariffs Delta Thailand had to pay upfront to customers earlier in the year, the company says. The United States recently set Thailand's tariff rate at 19% after previously threatening 36%. With Nvidia and its peers releasing new AI hardware at a rapid clip, Delta and its competitors are under pressure to deliver everything from power supply to thermal heating solutions to fit the advanced computing equipment. Data centre capacity in the Asia-Pacific region will more than double by 2030, requiring investment of more than $800 billion, according to Moody's Corp. 'Momentum is strong,' Mr Cheng said. 'The data-centre segment is the one that's propping up our both top lines and bottom lines.' Delta shares trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand have more than doubled from an April low, bringing its SET-leading market capitalisation to 1.9 trillion baht, far ahead of local peers. In November, the SET introduced trading curbs on the company's shares after its surging price triggered a surveillance mechanism. 'I continue to say that I don't like the stock price to be too high,' Mr Cheng said. 'If it's so high I don't know how well it will be sustained and somebody is going to get hurt.' Analysts say Delta is one of just a few Thai companies well-positioned to benefit from the data centre boom. The company is expanding its research and development operations in Thailand by hiring more designers and entering new areas such as thermal simulation engineering. It has recruited more than 100 engineers this year, bringing the total to about 400 in the country. Overall, Taiwan-based Delta has about 20,000 employees in Thailand, its biggest global base. Its two new production facilities in the Wellgrow industrial estate in Chachoengsao will come online in the fourth quarter. The additional capacity will help it meet demand for power thermal solutions and other components. 'In the next few years, AI and digitisation being smarter and faster will support our growth,' Mr Cheng said. 'We just want to maintain this double-digit growth' and 'discipline in our profit margin management'.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store