The Philippines has the potential to be the next key data center hub in Southeast Asia, said Ernest Cu, Globe Group President and CEO, as he cited the company’s venture into the data business with the intent to own the space in the next few years.

In an interview with Bloomberg Singapore, Cu noted that the country is strategically positioned to capitalize on the shifting dynamics in the region. With Hong Kong’s geopolitical situation and Singapore’s capacity limitations, the Philippines is increasingly seen as an attractive location for hyperscalers.

“Location-wise, we are in the middle of Southeast Asia, not far from most capitals in the ASEAN. With the added connectivity, with the added data center capacity, we believe that the Philippines will become a great alternative now for the many hyperscalers that have to serve the region,” said Cu.

In catering to these hyperscalers, Globe has already taken proactive steps through ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (Philippines), a joint venture between Globe, Ayala Corporation, and Singapore-based ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC).

“We started off by looking for a very capable partner in STT GDC. They share our vision and optimism about the market, and so we’re building our data centers that will be located throughout the Philippines. The largest of these centers will be in Fairview, Quezon City, and is expected to be online in the first quarter of 2025,” he shared.

Cu said construction of the Fairview site is progressing as planned. With a capacity of 124MW, it is touted to be the largest, most interconnected, sustainable, and carrier-neutral data center campus in the country upon completion.

Earlier, STT GDC Philippines also revealed aggressive expansion plans across its three existing data centers located in Makati, Cavite, and Quezon City. With a combined capacity expansion of 5.2MW set for the third quarter of this year, the company is poised to surpass the capacity of most single data centers locally.

To support hyperscalers, Globe is also building two more landing stations on the eastern and western coasts of the Philippines which can accommodate submarine cables that are coming into the country. These submarine cables provide various means of connectivity such as voice, data, and Internet.

“We’ve got a tremendous number of people, population-wise, that live in these regions, and we have to be served by the hyperscalers. The adoption of cloud is also growing in the region. So we think that there’s going to be a huge demand for data centers,” Cu added.

As the digital landscape of the Philippines continues to evolve, Globe is committed to being a pivotal part of this transformation, ensuring that the nation is well-equipped to handle the digital future.

To learn more about Globe, visit https://www.globe.com.ph/.