Sumitomo and SBI Holdings will each acquire a 20% stake in a unit of Vietnam¡¯s software and telecommunications conglomerate FPT to foster artificial intelligence adoption in Japan, according to a statement.
Sumitomo and SBI will invest in FPT Smart Cloud Japan, which oversees FPT¡¯s Japan AI data center, according to a statement from the Vietnamese technology firm. FPT will remain the unit¡¯s major stakeholder, it said.
SBI Holdings late last year signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire as much as a 35% stake in FPT¡¯s Japan cloud unit.
FPT is setting up a Japan AI data center, with an initial investment of $200 million. It is operating a similar data center using Nvidia AI technology in Hanoi.
The company targets $40 million in revenue from its AI data center business this year, Vietcap Securities said in a February report.
FPT is weighing additional AI data centers to meet increasing global demand, co-founder and Chairperson Truong Gia Binh said at the company¡¯s annual shareholders¡¯ meeting last week. Potential locations for data sites include Malaysia, Indonesia and Germany, he said. FPT plans to eventually invest as much as $1 billion in AI data centers, Binh said earlier.
The company is also considering a joint venture in the Middle East to lure investments in data centers, according to an April 17 note from ACB Securities, which cited information from the firm¡¯s annual meeting.
FPT targets 20% growth in total revenue and a 21% increase in profit before tax this year. It reported 2024 revenue of 62.85 trillion dong ($2.4 billion), a 19% year-on-year jump.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.