Philippines on the road to become an APAC data center hub

The Philippines (PH), recognized as one of the world's emerging data center markets, is pinned to become Asia's next data center hub. 

While other hubs in Southeast Asia, such as Hong Kong and Singapore, have taken a hit due to geopolitical risks and governmental restrictions, PH's impressive digital profile has made the country an attractive location for hyperscalers. Jeff Mendoza, Asia Pacific Regional Head of PLDT Enterprise, says that PH must "take advantage of this window of opportunity."

With the second-largest subscriber base in Southeast Asia and boasting one of the highest mobile penetration rates at 138%, has a strong foundation to build a digital infrastructure hub. Moreover, according to GlobalData, cloud spending in the country is expected to jump to $2.6 billion in the next three years.

Last month trade officials in the country even launched an AI roadmap, setting out plans to transform PH into an "AI center of excellence" and a "big data processing hub". This comes after the country passed the Philippine Innovation Act two years ago.