AI promotes Vietnam as a data center investment destination

Mr. Pang XingJian, General Director of Schneider Electric East Asia region shared at the event. Photo: TA .

Vietnam is emerging as a new destination for large-scale data center investors. According to experts at the Schneider Innovation 2025 Conference in Hanoi , the explosion of artificial intelligence (AI) is creating unprecedented opportunities for this market in Vietnam.

For years, Singapore has been the number one data center market in Southeast Asia. However, the market has run out of space in terms of land and energy.

"Some international investors have started to move to Malaysia, specifically the Johor Bahru area. However, Malaysia does not have enough clean electricity reserves to serve green data centers in the future," analyzed Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy General Director of VinaCapital.

According to Mr. Hai, Vietnam is becoming the most interested destination for international investors in super data centers. The main reasons include more affordable land and labor costs compared to other countries. Most importantly, Vietnam has the highest clean electricity reserves in Southeast Asia.

"Almost all investors in super data centers in the US and surrounding countries are eager to enter Vietnam," said Mr. Hai.

Experts participating in the discussion. Photo: Organizing Committee.

Mr. Pang XingJian, General Director of Schneider Electric East Asia, also agreed with this assessment. "When I compare Vietnam with other countries in the Asian region such as Singapore, Indonesia, and India, Vietnam is in a very good position to be able to take the lead," Mr. Pang commented.

The rise of AI has led to huge energy demands. A basic AI query consumes 10 times more electricity than a Google search. According to the International Energy Agency, by 2028, AI could account for 15-20% of total data center electricity consumption.

In Vietnam alone, the proportion of AI electricity in data centers is expected to increase from 8% in 2023 to 15-20% in 2028. This poses a major challenge in ensuring a stable power supply.

According to international rules, a country only needs to receive the first hyperscaler, then there will be 2-3 more hyperscalers to choose from in the following years.

"I believe that in the next year, if Vietnam can attract just one hyperscaler, in the next 3 years we will see all the global hyperscaler giants here," revealed an expert from VinaCapital.

According to Deloitte, the AI market in Vietnam could reach 65 billion USD by 2035. Of which, it is distributed across three segments: applications ( 30 billion USD ), platforms ( 10 billion USD ) and infrastructure ( 25 billion USD ).

Credence Research's report also shows that Vietnam's AI market will grow by an average of 15.8% per year, reaching a size of 1.52 billion USD by 2030. It could even contribute up to 130 billion USD to Vietnam's economy by 2040.

Dr. Tran Van Khai, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Science , Technology and Environment, said that the next five years will be a "golden opportunity" for Vietnam to welcome global technology investment capital.

"We have created a legal corridor and the best and most favorable environment for domestic and foreign enterprises to pioneer, lead and concentrate in Vietnam," Mr. Khai affirmed.

Currently, the National Assembly and the Ministry of Science and Technology are urgently developing the Law on Artificial Intelligence and the Law on Data Security. It is expected to be introduced in the upcoming 10th session to create a legal corridor for businesses and investors.

Schneider Electric representative is committed to building an ecosystem and cooperative relationships in Vietnam. "We want to create conditions for partners and customers to truly contribute to the growth of the Vietnamese economy," affirmed Mr. Pang XingJian.

The Group also offers many new solutions in building smart grids. This system is integrated with AI to optimize energy distribution and use, helping Vietnam ensure energy security and create momentum for digital transformation.

Source: https://znews.vn/ai-thuc-day-viet-nam-tro-thanh-diem-den-dau-tu-trung-tam-du-lieu-post1586322.html