Google is considering building a large data center in Vietnam, marking the first such investment by a major U.S. technology company in the Southeast Asian nation, according to sources familiar with the plans. The proposed "hyperscale" data center would be located near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's southern economic hub, and could be operational by 2027.

This potential investment would be a significant boost for Vietnam, which has struggled to attract major foreign capital in the data center sector due to infrastructure challenges. Despite being one of the fastest-growing markets for digital platforms like YouTube, Vietnam has faced obstacles such as occasional power shortages, less attractive investment incentives, and outdated internet infrastructure, which relies heavily on aging subsea cables.

Google's interest in Vietnam is driven by the country's expanding digital economy and the growing number of domestic and foreign cloud services clients. The hyperscale data center, if built, would be among the largest in the industry, with power consumption capacity comparable to that of a large city. Estimates suggest that a 50MW data center could cost between $300 million and $650 million.

Currently, the leading data center operators in Vietnam are state-owned enterprises IDC Becamex and VNPT. Vietnam has also seen interest from other foreign companies, including Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which has been considering a similar investment.

Google has been gradually increasing its presence in Vietnam, recently opening a representative office and hiring local engineers, marketing experts, and other professionals to better serve its Vietnam-based customers and support the country’s digital transformation.

A spokesperson for Google declined to comment on the data center plans but emphasized the company's commitment to enhancing its services in Vietnam.

Editor：Lulu

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