Thailand has become one of Southeast Asia’s most active destinations for data centre investment, yet the country still has no single regulatory regime governing the sector. Applications and approvals continue to be handled across several agencies, principally the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and the Board of Investment (BOI), each applying its own criteria to what is, in commercial terms, a single project.
Over the course of 2026, two distinct regulatory threads may close this regulatory gap. The first concerns who may own and operate a data centre, and is being driven by the NBTC through the telecommunications licensing framework. The second concerns what a project must deliver to Thailand in return for promotion, and is being driven by the BOI through revised investment promotion conditions and a newly established policy committee.
A data centre licensing regime under construction
On 5 August 2026, the Cabinet approved a draft Prime Minister’s Office Regulation establishing a national Data Centre Business Policy Committee, chaired by a Deputy Prime Minister, to oversee digital infrastructure policy. Separate drafting work is also underway on measures addressing the resource consumption of data centres, which remains subject to public consultation. Neither instrument yet operates as a licensing regime, but together they signal a clear intention to consolidate oversight and to make environmental and resource-consumption impacts a formal part of project assessment.
The practical consequence for the market is that prospective and existing operators alike, including data hosting providers and cloud service providers, should expect the assessment criteria applied to their projects to broaden well beyond the technical and telecommunications matters that have historically dominated.
Reclassification from Type 1 to Type 3: the foreign ownership question
According to statements given by the Acting Secretary-General of the NBTC, the regulator is considering the reclassification of data centre services from a Type 1 telecommunications business, under which foreign-majority ownership is permitted, to a Type 3 business, which is subject to more extensive licensing requirements including Thai-majority ownership.
The rationale behind the proposed change is one of regulatory parity. A Type 3 classification would place data centre operators on a similar footing to infrastructure-based operators such as telecommunications and cable service providers, and would likely carry comparable regulatory obligations and annual licensing fees.
This may also mean that foreign-majority operators could face additional restrictions, and may be required to meet more conditions in order to retain a licence.
Are there any changes regarding BOI promotion?
The BOI has restructured its approach to data centre promotions to drive energy efficiency. Prior to July 2025, promoted data centre projects received a uniform A1 incentive featuring an eight-year corporate income tax (CIT) exemption. However, applications submitted from 1 July 2025 onward are divided into two distinct categories based on energy performance:
- Category 8.2.1.1 (High-Efficiency Data Centres), which retains the eight-year CIT exemption.
- Category 8.2.1.2 (Standard Data Centres) which receives a five-year CIT exemption.
Of particular note is the requirement introduced in late 2025 which mandates that at least 50% of management and specialist roles must be held by Thai personnel within three years.
Projects must also complete specified human resource development activities, such as staff training, curriculum development with educational institutions, local research and development, and assisting with the upskilling of Thai small and medium-sized enterprises. Moreover, following Cabinet approval for a new policy committee, the BOI has also intensified screening of projects along their benefit to the country, energy readiness and security, water resource management, and environmental and town-planning impact.
Outlook in Thailand
In practice, a credible data centra operation must be able to explain where the project’s power will come from and whether clean energy is available; how water consumption will be managed through the dry season; how community impact will be avoided; whether the site has sufficient telecommunications redundancy; and how Thai workforce development will actually be delivered rather than merely undertaken.
While many of the changes discussed above other than that of BOI promotion has yet to be finalised, the regulator has made its regulatory position clear. Though specific details remain uncertain, data centre operators should stay updated on Thailand’s regulatory developments.
