‘Data residency law to drive up investments in data centers’
Requiring local storage of applications and information, even those held by the private sector, would encourage data center builders to move here and list publicly, industry players said.
Manila, Philippines — By mandating local storage of applications and information, industry insiders argue that the Philippines can attract data center builders to invest in the country and list publicly. The government needs a law on data residency to keep pace with regional competitors, according to those interviewed by The STAR.
A data center law would signal the government's commitment to long-term growth, according to Colliers Philippines research director Joey Bondoc. The International Energy Agency estimates that data centers consume about 1.5 percent of global electricity, so large data centers use up to five million liters of water daily for cooling.
The Philippine data center industry currently relies on Executive Order (EO) 119, which mandates local storage of top-secret government data. While VITRO president and CEO Victor Genuino believes EO 119 is sufficient for now, he agrees that a law would be necessary if it covers privately held data. Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia have already taken the drastic step of requiring even private data to be stored domestically for national security reasons, while the Philippines lags behind with only 90 MW of data center capacity.
Despite criticism of data centers' environmental impact, they are essential to the digital era as they store applications and information that run the online world. VITRO will soon list up to 48.95 percent of its shares on the local stock market to raise up to P24.2 billion for future projects and debt repayment.
Written by urgent.news from Philippine Star Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
