Facebook announced that it will be opening a new data centre in Singapore, the first in the region. The company will be investing more than USD 1 Billion in setting up the new Data Centre. This is on the heel of Google announcing its third data centre in the island republic.

The social media company is expanding its data centre coverage in Asia, its largest user base. As the number of users from this side of the world continue to grow, it is logical to cater customers here with a dedicated server for information and data retention. It also helps that Singapore is highly connected to major internet links around the region, making it a logical choice to set up the data centre here.

“This will be our first data center in Asia,” said Thomas Furlong, Facebook’s vice president of infrastructure data centers when asked by Reuters. “Singapore… provides great infrastructure, talent pool and workforce and a great set of partners.”

The new data centre will cover 170,000 square meters, and the facility is expected to generate new jobs for the local market, with a total investment of over SGD 1.4 Billion (RM 4.22 Billion).