Thailand approves Western Digital's $693 mln investment project

26.08.2024

Thailand has given the green light to Western Digital’s (WDC.O) project to invest 23.5 billion baht (approximately $693 million) in expanding its hard disk manufacturing operations in the country, the Board of Investment (BOI) announced on Monday. This decision comes as the demand for cloud technology and data centers continues to rise.

According to the BOI, this investment is expected to significantly benefit Thailand’s economy, increasing annual exports by 200 billion baht and creating an additional 10,000 jobs. Currently, Western Digital’s facility in Thailand employs 28,000 people, and the country is responsible for producing about 80% of the world’s hard disks.

Over the past decade, Thailand has approved investments worth 82.6 billion baht in the hard disk sector. Last year, Seagate, a competitor in the hard disk market, expanded its operations in Thailand with a 16 billion baht investment. Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy is projecting total investment applications to reach 800 billion baht in 2024.

(Exchange rate: $1 = 33.93 baht)