Underlining the continuing effect of the AI boom on Asia, Thailand has reportedly approved an estimated US$2.7 billion of investments in data centres and cloud services from both local and foreign firms.

Global digital operator Veon and Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company, have announced the signing of a business combination agreement that will result in the listing of Ukraine operator Kyivstar on the Nasdaq Stock Market in the United States.

Tech giant Microsoft has announced two major investments – in South Africa and India – though with two very different focuses. One involves cloud expansion. The other involves afforestation. 

Troubled Brazilian operator Oi has hit another landmark its ongoing corporate restructuring and asset disposal push, with the disposal of both its fibre broadband and pay-TV businesses.

Airwallex, a global payments and financial platform for growing businesses, says it has signed definitive agreements to acquire CTIN Pay, an intermediary payment service (IPS) licensed company in Vietnam.

India’s Tata Electronics and Taiwanese companies Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) and Himax have announced a semiconductor-related memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Colombia’s Ministry of ICT, the European Union and CAF, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, have signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen connectivity in Colombia and promote development in its territories, especially in rural and remote areas.

A delegation from SpaceX and its LEO satellite unit Starlink has wrapped up a series of meetings with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and other top officials to discuss expanding its investment in the country.

Indus Towers, regularly in the news in recent months, has now hit the headlines with a major tower purchase in India.

Wholesale fibre optic connectivity services and infrastructure carrier InterNexa has announced a five-year US$100 million investment to strengthen connectivity in Colombia.

As well as the revenue projections we covered earlier today, India’s Union Budget 2025 offers mixed but largely positive news for the telecoms sector, notably in areas such as rural coverage, tax on imported electronics, the space sector and artificial intelligence (AI).

Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Communications Innovation & Digital Economy (FMCIDE) and WIOCC Group, a provider of digital infrastructure and connectivity solutions, have announced a strategic partnership.

Cloud technologies provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced a plan to invest US$8.3 billion into cloud infrastructure in the AWS Asia-Pacific (Mumbai) Region in Maharashtra, a state in the western peninsular region of India, to further expand cloud computing capacity in the country.

Independent investment benefit corporation and asset manager Meridiam says it has acquired a majority stake in Ilitha, an innovative telecommunications company whose main objective is to provide affordable, unlimited internet solutions to underserved areas in South Africa.

State-owned Ethio Telecom revealed on Thursday that it has initiated strategic discussions with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to finance its digital transformation initiatives, amid reports that the telco also pushed back the deadline of its planned 10% share sale to mid-February.

The mixed fortunes of WOM Colombia, the country’s fourth largest operator, have been at least slightly boosted by news of an acquisition that will allow it to continue to operate.

Global digital operator Veon Group says it has reaffirmed its confidence in the growth potential of Pakistan’s microfinance sector and Mobilink Bank, part of the Veon Group, by investing US$15 million in fresh capital to drive the bank’s strategic ambitions.

Operator MTN Uganda says it has secured UGX370 billion (about US$100 million) in committed debt financing from five local banks.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and a consortium of six international financial institutions have committed over US$900 million in financing to global data centre operator Yondr Group’s hyperscale data centre campus in Johor Bahru, a city on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.

The Cameroon business of pan-African telecom giant MTN Group has received some encouraging news from its parent company in the form of a promised major injection of cash.

Pan-African infrastructure investor and asset manager Africa50 has announced a US$15 million investment in Raya Data Centre (RDC), a leading system integrator in MEA.

Brazilian telecommunications tower company Highline, owned by the US-based DigitalBridge group, says it has successfully raised almost US$380 million through a new debenture issue, its largest fundraising effort to date and its first issuance of tax-exempt incentivised debentures in the telecommunications infrastructure sector.

Development financier and impact investor Finnfund has announced a 10 million euro (about US$10.5 million) equity investment to boost the expansion of a major fibre network in Nepal.