Facebook plans to set up its first Asian data center in Taiwan

Facebook Inc. plans to set up its first Asia Pacific data center in Changhua County, central Taiwan. Facebook's data center will be located in a site beside Changhua High-speed Rail Station.

The social media company is joining Google that built the data center in the same county in Taiwan two years ago.

According to Focus Taiwan News, County Magistrate of Changhua Wei Ming Ku said that Facebook is evaluating potential sites for its new data centers and has interested in a piece of land next to the Taiwan high-speed rail station in Changhua County.

The County Magistrate made the statement at the opening ceremony of the Changhua High-Speed Rail Station on Dec 1. Wei said that Changhua County government would work with related agencies to solve power and water supply problems to attract Facebook's investment in the county.

According to Digitimes, Facebook has not yet made a final decision about the plan, although the company indicated that its seeking suitable locations in Taiwan.

The Changhua County Magistrate said that Facebook plans to invest NT$10 billion or about $300 million in building its new data center.

It is not the first time that the company has shown interest to invest in the country. In December 2014, the Menlo Park-based company announced its NT$3 million (about US$95,200) investment to set up its branch in Taiwan.

On Taiwan branch announcement earlier this year, Facebook said that the company recognizes the potential and opportunities that Taiwan presents.

"The company is looking forward to working closely with Taiwan businesses, partners, and the government to help local business grow", it says.

In its 2015 third quarter report, Facebook says it has 13 million active users in Taiwan per month, with 12 million of them connecting to the site via mobile devices.

Earlier in 2013, tech giant company Google has built a data center in Changhua County to keep up with fast-growing Internet market in Asia, noted Reuters.

Sitting on 15 hectares of land, Google's data center in Changhua County is the biggest of the company's Asian data centers. Google's long term investment on Taiwan data center will reach $600 million.

Facebook's data center in Changhua County would have a total of 20 hectares of land over the long term of expansion. Its initial phase will need six hectares of land.

Facebook did not confirm the news, although there were reports that consulting firms are working on behalf of the social network company to evaluate sites in Changhua County.

The consulting company has visited six candidate locations in Taiwan and is interested in the location beside Changhua High-speed Rail Station.