Singapore-based Universal Success Enterprises Limited (USEL) is exploring investments in Philippine data centers and logistics parks, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said, as the government pitches the country as a regional digital infrastructure hub even as scrutiny of its Pax Silica initiative continues.
DTI Secretary Cristina Roque and USEL founder and chairman Prasoon Mukherjee discussed the potential investment on the sidelines of the Singapore Business Federation Asean Conference in Singapore. USEL is reportedly in talks with Philippine companies, including the PLDT Group, to enter the country’s data center industry. No investment amount, site, capacity, or timeline has been disclosed.
For Filipino businesses and consumers, more data center capacity typically translates to faster, more reliable cloud services, lower latency for local apps like GCash and Maya, and stronger backup infrastructure for banks and telcos that currently route some workloads through data centers in Singapore or Hong Kong. DTI estimates the Philippine data center market could reach $2.48 billion by 2031, though it did not cite the source of that projection.
The talks unfold against a backdrop of mounting calls for an independent review of Pax Silica, the proposed 1,620-hectare industrial hub in New Clark City, Tarlac that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. positioned as a centerpiece of his State of the Nation Address. Government officials have pegged the project’s investment potential at $40 billion to $70 billion at full build-out, with up to 190,000 direct jobs and $200 billion in exports. Independent estimates place its resource footprint at roughly 130 million liters of water and 3 gigawatts of electricity per day, which is equal to about 16 percent of Luzon’s current grid capacity.
Roque said the government would present USEL with investment sites and incentives through the Board of Investments, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Clark Development Corp., and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
“With our upgraded incentive regimes under the CREATE MORE Act and a rapidly expanding digital economy, the Philippines is fully equipped to support global developers like USEL. Beyond the Board of Investments, we want to present the full landscape of our ecozones across the entire Philippine government – whether under PEZA, CDC, SBMA, or other investment promotion agencies,” Roque said.
“As a government, our role is to showcase every strategic location available so investors can choose the setup that best fits their growth model. The DTI and PTIC-Singapore stand ready to facilitate these connections and ensure a smooth, end-to-end investment journey,” she added.
USEL, founded by Mukherjee in 1995, built its Philippine presence through Outback Steakhouse, which it operated as master franchisee from 2010 to 2022 before it shifted toward large-scale infrastructure work in India and Southeast Asia. The company’s broader portfolio includes industrial parks, townships, ports, coal and energy projects, and data centers, primarily in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
In a separate meeting with the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, Roque promoted the Philippines as a production base for semiconductors, aerospace parts, and food products. Singapore logistics firm YCH Group also disclosed plans to invest in AI-enabled “superport” and “super park” facilities in the country, without providing a valuation or timeline.
No formal agreement between USEL and the Philippine government has been signed.
