bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Iris Deng

Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings is “aggressively” stepping up its presence in the global cloud computing industry this year, a company executive said, with new data centres launching in Asia, the Middle East and Europe to take advantage of higher demand for digitalisation spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This year we are going to be a lot more aggressive building out our [cloud] infrastructure around the world,” said Poshu Yeung, senior vice-president of Tencent Cloud International, in an interview with the South China Morning Post. “I’m not going to disclose the exact number and the timeline, but I can highlight that likely it’s going to be another 30 to 50 per cent growth in terms of the number of data centres.”
On Monday, Tencent unveiled a new data centre in Jakarta, its first in Indonesia, with another one set to go online in a few months. Yeung said the company chose Indonesia because it is “one of the fastest growing markets in the region”, where the population has embraced digital transformation during the pandemic, especially in fintech and government services.
When the second location is live, it will be the first time that Tencent launched two data centres in the same market within one year, Yeung said. “It shows how aggressive we are and how much we value Indonesia … and the entire Southeast Asia region,” he added.
Tencent’s accelerated cloud push overseas comes as competition heats up at home and abroad in cloud computing. Providers are rushing to meet rising demand for the technology that supports remote work and learning, e-commerce, online entertainment and other online services.
China’s cloud infrastructure market jumped 66 per cent to reach US$19 billion in 2020, while the global market rose 33 per cent to US$142 billion, according to analytics firm Canalys.

In Asia, Tencent’s cloud business recorded triple-digit growth in 2020 during the pandemic, according to Yeung.
Beyond Indonesia, Tencent is set to open new data centres in Thailand, Malaysia and Japan this year, Yeung said. Tencent is also building its first Middle East data centre in Bahrain to cover the region, and it is working on a second facility in Frankfurt, Germany, that is expected to open in the second quarter this year.
Yeung said the company is exploring the Middle East and Africa as potential growth markets in the future. “We’re constantly exploring,” he said.
Tencent started its cloud business in China about a decade ago, but it has more recently stepped up its efforts to push the business abroad. The company currently has about 20 data centres operating in 13 regions outside of China, Yeung said.
Tencent’s domestic cloud investment has also been ambitious. In 2020, it vowed to invest 500 billion yuan (US$76.3 billion) over five years in new digital infrastructure, which includes the development of a network of large-scale data centres across the country, with a million servers deployed at each site.
Alibaba sees growth in cloud as China doubles down on digitalisation
Similarly, its Chinese rival Alibaba Cloud – the data backbone of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the Post – pledged last year to invest an additional 200 billion yuan over three years in its cloud infrastructure.
Alibaba has also been seeking other ways to expand its global reach. Last year, it partnered with data centre company Equinix and network technology company Aryaka to access clients around the world.
Alibaba is the biggest cloud service provider in China, which had 40 per cent of the market in the fourth quarter of 2020, followed by Huawei Technologies Co at 17 per cent and Tencent Cloud at 15 per cent, according to Canalys. Huawei has also made cloud computing a priority for 2021 as it looks for new sources of revenue after US sanctions put a chokehold on the company’s 5G and smartphone businesses, company founder Ren Zhengfei said in an internal speech.
Globally, Alibaba Cloud trails Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft’s Azure and Google Cloud. In China, Azure operates through data centre firm 21Vianet Group. In fourth place, Alibaba had 6 per cent of the global cloud market in the fourth quarter, while Tencent Cloud had 2 per cent.
Matthew Ball, chief analyst at Canalys, said that Chinese companies are looking abroad for growth because the country only makes up 14 per cent of the global market. But growing overseas is not easy for Chinese companies.


“The biggest challenge is the requirement to build data centres locally in most countries, which takes time and huge resources,” he added. “Specifically for Chinese cloud service providers, another barrier is trust, particularly in Europe and more so in the US.”
Yeung noted that Tencent’s data centres comply with local rules. “The hardest part is to actually get local compliance and get the security checked. We’ve gone through basically everything,” he said.
Tencent already has broad business interests overseas, with an investment portfolio that includes multiple foreign gaming companies like US-based Riot Games and e-commerce platforms such as Singapore-based Shopee. Expanding its cloud offerings overseas also supports these interests.
“It makes a lot of sense for us to take care of our own business,” Yeung said. “This is one of the reasons why we [are building our cloud business] not just in Indonesia, but also around the world.”


Tencent accelerates global cloud push with its first data centre in Indonesia

People walk along a pedestrian walkway near the Tencent Holdings headquarters in Shenzhen on March 20. Photo: Bloomberg

Data centres are costly to build and maintain, giving Big Tech companies an edge. But Tencent lags behind competitors at home and abroad. Photo: Shutterstock

Tech

Big Tech


Internet giant Tencent plans to establish new data centres across Asia, the Middle East and Europe
Tencent seeks growth overseas amid increased competition in cloud services at home, where it ranks behind Alibaba and Huawei



Tencent Cloud International senior-vice president says Tencent is building out data centres across Asia, the Middle East and Europe as the company seeks growth overseas amid tough competition at home.


Tencent accelerates global cloud push with its first data centre in Indonesia

Internet giant Tencent plans to establish new data centres across Asia, the Middle East and Europe Tencent seeks growth overseas amid increased competition in cloud services at home, where it ranks behind Alibaba and Huawei

Internet giant Tencent plans to establish new data centres across Asia, the Middle East and Europe

Tencent seeks growth overseas amid increased competition in cloud services at home, where it ranks behind Alibaba and Huawei