AKP Phnom Penh, January 15, 2026 —

Three Japanese conglomerates are setting up a joint venture, Intra-Asia Marine Networks, to build and operate a subsea cable connecting Japan with Malaysia and Singapore, amid rising demand for international data capacity driven by the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

NTT Data, Sumitomo Corp. and JA Mitsui Leasing announced on January 13 that the 8,100-kilometre Intra-Asia Marine (I-AM) fibre-optic cable, expected to cost around 150 billion JPY (about 1 billion USD), will be operational by early fiscal year 2029, with plans to expand to the Republic of Korea and the Philippines. The cable will have a total capacity of 320 Tbit/s.

Intra-Asia Marine Networks CEO Yoshio Sato said the joint venture marks “a significant step forward” in strengthening Asia’s digital infrastructure.

The joint venture will handle capacity planning and sales, targeting major global technology and telecommunications companies. Giants such as Google, Meta and Amazon are among the biggest investors in submarine cables in the race to secure bandwidth for AI computing and cloud services.

The move comes as network providers strive to add lines and expand capacity in Asia to meet rising bandwidth demand, while also seeking to mitigate risks from natural disasters and geopolitical instability.

Subsea cables, which carry about 99% of international data traffic, are increasingly seen as crucial strategic infrastructure for economic and digital security. Other Japanese companies and network providers are also adding similar new routes connecting Japan and Southeast Asia.

Singapore, serving as a hub for the I-AM cable, is one of Asia’s most important digital gateways, housing numerous undersea cable connections. Malaysia is rapidly emerging as a lower-cost data centre development hub, further increasing the importance of the new route.

AKP-VNA