DENPASAR, Indonesia, May 20 (Xinhua) — Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, announced the launch of Starlink satellite internet service in Bali, Indonesia on May 19. Starlink has obtained permission to operate in Indonesia.
Attending the 10th World Water Forum, Musk initiated the service at a community health center in Denpasar, the capital of Bali province. He mentioned that this initiative will help millions of people in remote areas of Indonesia access the internet.
This move by Musk is another example of tech giants investing or expanding their presence in Indonesia. Musk, also the CEO of Tesla, hinted at potential future investments in Indonesia by his other companies.
In early April, Nvidia revealed plans to collaborate with an Indonesian satellite company, investing $200 million to establish an artificial intelligence center in Central Java, Indonesia. This signifies Nvidia's further expansion into the Southeast Asian market.
On April 17, Apple CEO Tim Cook made a high-profile visit to Indonesia and was received by President Joko Widodo. Cook mentioned that Apple is considering setting up factories in Indonesia.
Shortly after, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella visited Indonesia and announced a $1.7 billion investment over the next four years to build Indonesia's cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Apart from Indonesia, Cook also visited Vietnam and Singapore, while Nadella visited Thailand and Malaysia. In recent years, a number of tech giants have been actively expanding into Southeast Asia. According to Novi Basuki, a professor at the University of Indonesia, this trend indicates the enormous potential of the digital economy market in Southeast Asia. Microsoft believes that Southeast Asia is a continuously growing market.
Veronica, an international affairs expert in Indonesia, views Indonesia as the largest economy in Southeast Asia and the fourth most populous country in the world, providing a vast market for these tech giants. She believes that the arrival of tech giants will have a profound impact on Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, by promoting economic growth, creating job opportunities, and driving technological advancement. (End)
