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SINGAPORE: Amazon plans to invest an additional S$12 billion (US$8.88 billion) in Singapore over the next four years to expand its cloud computing infrastructure in the country.  This is to meet growing customer demand for cloud technology and services in Singapore, Amazon Web Services (AWS) said on Tuesday (May 7). The extra spending adds to the S$11.5 billion that AWS has already invested in the Asia Pacific region through 2023. "With the new investment, AWS’ total planned investment into its existing cloud infrastructure is set to double to more than S$23 billion by 2028," AWS said in a media release. AWS, the cloud computing arm of Amazon, launched in Singapore in 2010 - its first expansion outside the United States and Europe. Welcoming the additional investment, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Tan Kiat How said cloud service providers like AWS play an important role in growing Singapore's digital economy ecosystem. "Besides being a foundational digital infrastructure for organisations, cloud service providers enable enterprises to easily access digital resources like compute and storage, as well as advanced capabilities like AI," Mr Tan said at the 10th AWS ASEAN Summit in Singapore. He noted that Singapore’s digital economy generated S$106 billion worth of value-add to the economy, accounting for about 17 per cent of the country's nominal GDP in 2022. It has also generated job opportunities.  There are currently about 210,000 tech professionals in Singapore, a 4.7 per cent increase over the last five years, Mr Tan said, noting that about seven in 10 of these workers are locals. Amazon hires more than 2,000 workers across its business units in Singapore including its cloud services, operations, logistics and data engineering teams. According to AWS' economic impact study, its planned investment is expected to contribute about S$23.7 billion to Singapore's GDP. It is also expected to support more than 12,300 jobs through 2028, within AWS and companies that use its business. "This investment will create a ripple effect across Singapore by increasing economic growth and cloud adoption," said AWS' Singapore country manager Priscilla Chong. "It also brings additional contributions to the local economy by AWS, such as upskilling the local digital workforce, developing renewable energy projects, and creating a positive impact in the communities where AWS operates." AWS will also support Singapore’s national AI strategy goals with a new flagship programme called AWS AI Spring for Singapore. There are six "pillars" under the programme, which include collaboration on driving AI initiatives within the Singapore government, conducting AI skilling and professional certification programmes, as well as nurturing core AI start-ups in Singapore. "This is a multifaceted collaboration with the Singapore government, public sector organisations and enterprises to help accelerate the adoption of AI and generative AI in Singapore," the company said. As part of its collaboration with the public sector, for instance, AWS signed a Memorandum of Understanding with health tech agency Synapxe to work on a data and AI application that will enable healthcare providers to utilise data analytics and AI across healthcare systems.  To help upskill Singapore’s workforce, AWS said it would collaborate with institutes of higher learning, with an aim to train 5,000 people on AI skills yearly over three years, from 2024 to 2026.