Cloud computing giant Alibaba Cloud has announced the launch of its third data centre in Malaysia. It also plans to open its second data centre in the Philippines in October 2025.
These openings, it says, aim to meet the growing demand for cloud and AI services across Southeast Asia.
Those expansions build on earlier infrastructure investments in Thailand, Mexico, and South Korea, announced in the first half of 2025. This growing network, the company says, ensures that Alibaba Cloud can meet the rising global demand for secure, resilient and scalable cloud services.
As the news website Data Centre Dynamics points out, Alibaba first opened a cloud region in Malaysia in October 2017, making it, at the time, the first global public cloud platform to host infrastructure in the country.
In addition to the new data centre locations, Alibaba Cloud says it has launched an AI Global Competency Centre (AIGCC) in Singapore, which will provide businesses and developers with access to advanced AI models and computing resources in the country.
Alibaba's global buildout is part of a significant capex commitment. The company reportedly intends to spend around US$52.7 billion in establishing what is referred to as a "unified global cloud network”.
However, as Data Centre Dynamics notes, the company seems to be strategically selecting locations, having exited its data centres in Australia and India in 2024.
