Asia Tech Wire (July 5) -- Thailand is increasing its efforts to attract investment in data centers.

Last month, the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) approved two companies to develop large data centers in the country, worth a total of 10.54 billion baht ($285 million).

One of the companies, a U.S.-based multinational, will invest 7.19 billion baht in a data center in Samut Prakan, a province near Bangkok.

The other approved investment is the expansion of a data center in Samut Prakan by True Internet Data Center Co., Ltd., a local company, with an investment of about 3.35 billion baht.

The BOI disclosed that foreign investment in data centers and other industries in Thailand amounted to 228 billion baht in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 30% year-on-year.

The agency has also been trying to attract foreign capital in sectors such as electric vehicles, logistics and biochemistry.