Global tech giant Microsoft Corp. is expected to ink a deal for establishing a data center in Busan, the nation’s biggest port city, when its chief executive Satya Nadella visits Korea on Tuesday.
During his stay in Korea, Nadella will meet with top government officials including Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Yoon Sang-jick to discuss how the two sides would cooperate on investment plans in Korea, according to government and industry sources.
The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae earlier said it expects the data center to lead to 5.5 trillion won ($5.2 billion) of investment for Korea.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
Amazon, the world’s largest electronic commerce firm, is also expected to establish a database here, although so far the government has declined to name the firm.
Microsoft plans to build a large data center by the end of this year on a 165,000-square-meter plot of land near LG CNS Busan Global Cloud Data Center, Korea’s first global cloud data center.
The company is planning to invest 470 billion won for over the first five years and trillions of won in the long run. When the Microsoft data center is established, it is likely to cover the entire Asian region.
“There will be jobs open for computer and software engineers once the center is established,” a government official said.
Microsoft Korea was unavailable for comment.
By Lee Hee-ju (hjlee0301@heraldcorp.com)
