---
title: "Thailand paused data center approvals; Delta Electronics chose Penang and its Taipei shares fell 9.8%"
description: "Delta Electronics approved a Malaysian manufacturing base on October 28, one day after Thailand's data-center committee set stricter rules with new applications paused until early 2027, and its energy council has since put data centers in a higher-priced electricity class. Malaysia has drawn RM385.7 billion of data-center money while Thailand re-screens its 42-project, 3,400 MW pipeline."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Data Center"
published: 2026-11-02T16:18:22.283Z
modified: 2026-11-02T16:18:22.283Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/thailand-paused-data-center-approvals-delta-electronics-chose-penang-and-its-taipei-shares-fell-9-8
language: en
keywords: "Data Centers, Delta Electronics, Thailand, Malaysia, Southeast Asia"
---

# Thailand paused data center approvals; Delta Electronics chose Penang and its Taipei shares fell 9.8%

> Delta Electronics approved a Malaysian manufacturing base on October 28, one day after Thailand's data-center committee set stricter rules with new applications paused until early 2027, and its energy council has since put data centers in a higher-priced electricity class. Malaysia has drawn RM385.7 billion of data-center money while Thailand re-screens its 42-project, 3,400 MW pipeline.

## The squeeze has an address, and Delta just answered it

On October 27 Thailand's data-center committee [set stricter admission rules](https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/tech-companies/thailand-sets-new-rules-for-data-centres-as-applications-surge/ar-AA2g9Ppk): minimum standards for location, land use, fuel storage and water management, seven tiers ranked by power demand, one year for existing sites to comply, and new applications expected to open only in early 2027 [1]. On October 28 [Delta Electronics](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/delta-electronics)' board [approved a large manufacturing base in Penang, Malaysia](https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20261029PD247/delta-electronics-manufacturing-capacity-production-development.html) [2]. On October 30 the company [staged its Southeast Asia summit in Singapore](https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/delta-electronics-hosts-inaugural-future-industry-summit-in-singapore-and-inks-collaboration-with-the-college-of-design-and-engineering-at-nus-to-advance-sustainable-data-center-innovation-302924812.html), after seven consecutive editions in Thailand [3]. Three dates in a row, one factory map redrawn.

![Delta Electronics executives on stage at its Future Industry Summit in Thailand in September 2026](https://storage.googleapis.com/theinference-public/img/303dd433476418bc.jpg)

*Delta's Future Industry Summit ran seven consecutive editions in Thailand; this one was staged in Bangkok in September 2026, before the inaugural Singapore edition on October 30. (Credit: Courtesy of Delta Electronics) (Courtesy of Delta Electronics)*

## The money that moved

Thailand is Delta's core, not its satellite: roughly 30-40% of the group's manufacturing capacity sits there, and [management told analysts Malaysian capacity could match it within five years](https://www.kaohooninternational.com/opinion/593609), with Penang carrying research and development as well [4].

The Thai unit carrying that production just missed: [operating margin fell to 10.4% from 14.1%](https://theinference.org/article/delta-electronics-set-a-record-nt-197-1-billion-quarter-vicor-s-itc-case-targets-the-same-ai-server-modules), a THB 1.9 billion inventory provision and a THB 1.4 billion global minimum tax charge landed in the same quarter, and the Taipei shares closed down 9.8% [5]. [Malaysia has drawn RM385.7 billion of data-center investment since 2021](https://theinference.org/article/johor-s-grid-cannot-keep-up-with-ai-so-ytl-power-is-buying-1-623-acres-at-port-klang), and Delta already sits among the equipment suppliers Malaysia is wiring into that ecosystem [6].

## The complication: Delta's costs are not Thai costs

The Thai margin hit came from inventory, freight, US customs duties and a global minimum tax, none of it Bangkok's doing [5].

But Bangkok just repriced the infrastructure that buys Delta's equipment. The National Energy Policy Council has moved data centers into their own higher-priced electricity class, with deposits required to apply for power and investors covering their own grid costs [6]. [The Board of Investment approved 42 projects, 3,400 MW of IT load and 750 billion baht of capital across 2024-2026](https://baomoi.com/thai-lan-malaysia-doi-chien-luoc-hut-von-vao-trung-tam-du-lieu-c56412881.epi), then took no new applications after April and began re-screening the list [6].

*Chart: **Chinese investors hold the largest foreign bloc in Thailand's data-center pipeline** Bar chart ranking the 42 Thai data-center projects approved with investment incentives across 2024 to 2026 by investor nationality: Thai companies 15, China 10, US 5, UAE 4, Japan 2, Malaysia 1, Hong Kong 1, Other 5.*

*Investor nationality of the 42 Thai data-center projects approved with investment incentives, 2024-2026, in project counts. 'Other' covers the five remaining projects the BOI attributes to investors from Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Australia and France. Source: BOI figures relayed by Bao Moi / Dien Tu & Ung Dung, November 2, 2026 [6]. [6]*

## The counterpoint

Chinese investors hold the largest foreign bloc in that pipeline, ten of 42 approved projects against five American and four Emirati [6]. A Delta-commissioned IDC study shows why governments flinch: Southeast Asian operators report 26-50% annual power-demand growth against 11-20% in the United States and Europe, and about a quarter name power, grid, cooling and equipment lead times as their biggest constraint [3].

Delta's stated reasons for Penang are customer demand and Malaysian talent, not Thai rules, and it is expanding a new plant at Bangpoo in Thailand at the same time [4]. The freeze has a reopen date: [49 projects were suspended in September](https://thenextweb.com/news/thailand-49-data-centres-suspended-warehouse-permits) after complaints exposed data centers getting warehouse permits, 117 more await approval, and applications open again in early 2027 with more than 100 prospective operators waiting [7][1].

*Chart: **Thailand's re-screening holds 166 projects in limbo, with 100-plus more waiting** Bar chart of data-center project counts in Thailand: 49 suspended, 117 awaiting approval, more than 100 prospective operators waiting.*

*Data-center projects counted in Thailand, September to November 2026, in project counts. 49 were suspended after complaints exposed data centers getting warehouse permits, 117 await approval, and more than 100 prospective operators are waiting for applications to reopen in early 2027. Sources: The Next Web, September 6, 2026 [7]; Reuters [1]. [7][1]*

## What decides it

Two readings settle this: Delta's Thai operating margin as the backlog ships, which Bualuang expects to recover in the fourth quarter [5], and how much of the 3,400 MW pipeline survives the re-screening with its deposits and new tariff intact [6].

No source ties the three dates together causally; that sequence is the record's, the reading of it is ours. But a company that approves a new base the day after its host government pauses applications and reprices power is acting like a supplier that no longer treats one country as the whole plan.

## Takeaway

Thailand paused new data-center applications and repriced power on October 27; Delta Electronics approved its Penang manufacturing base on October 28, betting Malaysia's RM385.7 billion buildout can match its Thai base within five years.

## Sources

1. [Reuters (via MSN), Thailand sets new rules for data centres as applications surge, 27 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/tech-companies/thailand-sets-new-rules-for-data-centres-as-applications-surge/ar-AA2g9Ppk)
2. [DIGITIMES, Delta Electronics approves Penang manufacturing base to expand global capacity, 30 October 2026 (paywalled beyond the lead)](https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20261029PD247/delta-electronics-manufacturing-capacity-production-development.html)
3. [PR Newswire, Delta Electronics Hosts Inaugural Future Industry Summit in Singapore and Inks Collaboration with NUS CDE, 30 October 2026](https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/delta-electronics-hosts-inaugural-future-industry-summit-in-singapore-and-inks-collaboration-with-the-college-of-design-and-engineering-at-nus-to-advance-sustainable-data-center-innovation-302924812.html)
4. [Kaohoon International, Delta's Thailand-Malaysia Rivalry Reflects ASEAN's Race to Win the AI Boom, 2 November 2026](https://www.kaohooninternational.com/opinion/593609)
5. [The Inference, Delta Electronics set a record NT$197.1 billion quarter; Vicor's ITC case targets the same AI server modules, 30 October 2026](https://theinference.org/article/delta-electronics-set-a-record-nt-197-1-billion-quarter-vicor-s-itc-case-targets-the-same-ai-server-modules)
6. [Bao Moi / Dien Tu & Ung Dung, Thai Lan, Malaysia doi chien luoc hut von vao trung tam du lieu, 2 November 2026](https://baomoi.com/thai-lan-malaysia-doi-chien-luoc-hut-von-vao-trung-tam-du-lieu-c56412881.epi)
7. [The Next Web, Thailand halted more data centres than it has running, 6 September 2026](https://thenextweb.com/news/thailand-49-data-centres-suspended-warehouse-permits)


---

Thailand paused data center approvals; Delta Electronics chose Penang and its Taipei shares fell 9.8% — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/thailand-paused-data-center-approvals-delta-electronics-chose-penang-and-its-taipei-shares-fell-9-8