Friday, December 13, 2024

Singapore's Keppel, Vietnam's Sovico Group In Talks To String Submarine Cable Between the Two Countries

More Keppel news, they have a lot of money to invest.

From Reuters, December 12:

Exclusive: Singapore, Vietnam firms in talks for new undersea cables, sources say

  • Keppel, Sovico Group discuss undersea cable between Singapore and Vietnam, sources say
  • Keppel considers cable from Singapore to Japan with branches to other countries, source says
  • Southeast Asia undersea cable plans are caught in US-China tech war
  • Sovico briefed by US officials over risks of choosing Chinese contractors, sources say
  • China's HMN Tech would not be involved in direct link plan, sources say
HANOI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Singaporean asset manager Keppel (KPLM.SI)
, opens new tab and Vietnamese conglomerate Sovico Group are discussing plans for new undersea fiber-optic cables that would boost the region's data centre industry, people familiar with the discussions said.
 
Southeast Asian countries, a major junction for cables connecting Asia to Europe, are seeking to expand their networks to meet booming demand for AI services and data centres. Vietnam alone plans to have 10 new submarine cables by 2030.
 
Undersea cables are at the centre of the Sino-American tech war, with the two powers vying to win contracts, especially in Asia, to build and maintain the strategic infrastructure that carries most internet data, including sensitive information.
 
Under one plan under discussion, a cable would be laid to link Vietnam directly with Singapore, five people directly involved or briefed on the matter said.
 
It would cost $150 million, according to one source with direct knowledge of the talks.
This option is favoured by Sovico, but talks with Keppel on the direct cable are in flux and no agreement has been reached yet, two sources with direct knowledge said.
They added that Keppel prefers a more ambitious cable plan involving a consortium of investors.
 
Under that second plan, the connection to Vietnam developed by Sovico would be an offshoot of a longer cable, three people said, with one noting it would run from Singapore to Japan with links to countries along the route....
....MUCH MORE
 
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