Singapore, Vietnam eye undersea cable link as US flags risks of choosing Chinese contractors
Keppel and Sovico Group in talks to build a new network to meet booming demand for AI services and data centres
Singaporean asset manager Keppel and Vietnamese conglomerate Sovico Group are discussing plans for new undersea fibre-optic cables that would boost the region’s data centre industry, people familiar with the discussions said.
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.
It would cost US$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.