FEBRUARYASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8NEWSROOMMeta announced a multi-billion-dollar, multi-year investment in an undersea cable project that will begin work this year and support greater Indian Ocean connectivity, as per a US-India joint leader's statement from the White House.The project will ultimately stretch over 50,000 km to connect five continents and strengthen global digital highways in the Indian Ocean region and beyond."India intends to invest in maintenance, repair and financing of undersea cables in the Indian Ocean, using trusted vendors," the statement said.The announcement comes amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the US, where he also met Tesla CEO Elon Musk."Meta investing in India, one of its largest marketsand bringing the world's longest, highest capacity and most technologically advanced subsea cable project to connect India, the US, and other locations," a Meta spokesperson told ET. "This new, multi-billion dollar investment will stretch over 50,000 km to connect five continents, enhancing the scale and reliability of the global digital highways that power Meta's apps and services, and will be ready for service at the end of the decade."The spokesperson added that with India's growing demand for digital services, the investment reaffirms Meta's commitment to "economic growth, resilient infrastructure, and digital inclusion, supporting India's thriving digital landscape and fostering technological innovation."The White House said that the leaders of both nations pledged to accelerate defense technology cooperation across space, air defense, missile, maritime and undersea technologies, with the US announcing a review of its policy on releasing fifth-generation fighters and undersea systems to India. President Lai Ching-te of Taiwan promised to increase defense spending, increase investment in and purchases from the nation, and discuss President Donald Trump's worries about the semiconductor sector with the United States."Taiwan's government will communicate and discuss with the semiconductor industry and come up with good strategies. Then we will come up with good proposals and engage in further discussions with the United States," Lai said.Trump made disparaging remarks about Taiwan on Thursday, stating that he intended to bring back American semiconductor chip manufacturing and restating his accusations that Taiwan had stolen the industry he wanted back in the US.The largest contract chipmaker in the world, TSMC, is based in Taiwan. It is a vital component of the emerging AI sector and a significant supplier to firms like Apple and Nvidia. With exports to the US reaching a record US$111.4 billion last year, driven by demand for high-tech goods like semiconductors, Taiwan also maintains a significant trade surplus with the US, which increased by 83%.According to Lai, Taiwan is the most dependable trading partner of the United States and the US is Taiwan's top destination for foreign investment.Trump has previously criticized numerous US allies for not investing enough in defense, including Taiwan, which is facing an increasing military threat from China, whose government claims the island as its own territory.META TO ESTABLISH UNDERSEA CABLES UNDERNEATH GREATER INDIAN OCEANTAIWAN TO COLLABORATE WITH SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY ON US POLICIES
< Page 7 | Page 9 >