GULF-Singtel Unveil Massive Subsea Cable Network to Power Southeast Asia AI Revolution

Gulf Development Public Company Limited (SET: GULF) and Singtel Group have announced a strategic partnership to develop and invest in new submarine cable connectivity between Thailand and Singapore, marking a major infrastructure push aimed at supporting cloud, artificial intelligence, data centre and broader digital services across Southeast Asia. The first initiative under the tie-up will see both partners participate in the Vietnam-Thailand-Singapore (VTS) Cable System, a subsea link expected to be operational by 2030 with capital requirements to be staggered across multiple years.

"This partnership with Singtel represents an important milestone in Gulf's digital infrastructure strategy. Together, we are creating a platform that strengthens submarine cable connectivity between Thailand and Singapore while supporting Thailand's ambition to become a leading digital and AI economy in Southeast Asia," said Mr. Sarath Ratanavadi, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Development.

Partnership details and commercial roles

The collaboration combines Gulf's infrastructure development strengths and expanding digital business portfolio with Singtel's long-standing leadership in submarine cable infrastructure and services. Singtel Singapore and Thai associate AIS — the leading telecommunications operators in Singapore and Thailand respectively — will leverage their market expertise, connectivity capabilities and customer reach to support development and commercialisation of the VTS Cable System.

• Project: Vietnam-Thailand-Singapore (VTS) Cable System
• Partners: Gulf Development (SET: GULF) and Singtel Group; involvement from Singtel Singapore and AIS
• Target operational date: 2030
• Scope: Subsea cable linking Thailand to Singapore, with potential future investments in terrestrial and additional subsea systems

"Thailand and Singapore are two of Southeast Asia's most important digital economies. Our partnership with Gulf brings together our expertise in digital infrastructure and submarine cable systems to meet the growing demand for cloud, AI, data centre and digital services," said Mr. Yuen Kuan Moon, Group Chief Executive Officer of Singtel. "We look forward to deepening submarine cable links between our two countries and supporting the next phase of digital growth and innovation in the region."

Context: why the link matters

Thailand has been attracting investments in data centres, cloud services and digital platforms, and the new subsea capacity is being positioned as critical to meeting rising cross-border bandwidth demands driven by enterprises, hyperscalers, cloud providers and digital platforms. Enhanced international connectivity is framed by both companies as central to Thailand's ambition to grow its AI and digital economy and to reinforce Singapore's role as a premier regional connectivity hub.

The announcement also signals the potential for Gulf and Singtel to expand their collaboration beyond the VTS Cable System. The partners said they could consider investing in terrestrial cable systems and other subsea cable systems in the future, providing a platform to pursue additional opportunities across Southeast Asia that support digital investment and innovation.

Outlook

With the VTS Cable System slated for 2030, Gulf and Singtel plan a multi-year capital deployment and development timeline. If delivered on schedule, the project will add resilient, diverse and higher-performance connectivity between two of the region’s major digital economies, supporting growth in AI workloads, cloud services and data-centre traffic. The partnership underscores a strategic shift by infrastructure players toward aligning subsea capacity expansion with the rapid adoption of AI and cloud technologies across Southeast Asia.