Amazon Commits $9 Billion to Double Singapore Cloud Push

Amazon.com Inc. plans to spend $9 billion expanding its cloud computing infrastructure in Singapore, the latest global tech company to boost investment in Southeast Asia.

The outlay, to be done over the next four years, doubles Amazon Web Services’ investment in Singapore and helps it meet growing customer demand for cloud services and accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence, the company said Tuesday.

AWS, which sells software and data storage for rent from massive server farms, has been expanding its footprint outside the US in recent years, with much of that investment targeting Asian markets. Companies from Microsoft Corp. to Apple Inc. are also growing in the Southeast Asian market of more than 650 million people, partly to diversify away from China and reduce geopolitical risks amid tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Including the Singapore investment, AWS has this year announced plans to spend about $35 billion outside the US, including in Japan, Saudi Arabia and Mexico. The company is also setting up clusters of data centers in Malaysia and Thailand.