San Francisco, Sep 7 (IANS): As governments the world over including in India aim to store data of their people within their boundaries, Facebook on Friday announced to build its first data centre in Asia that will be located in Singapore.

The 170,000-square-metre data centre will be built with more than 1.4 billion Singapore dollars (over $1 billion), opening hundreds of job opportunities.

"We are excited to announce that Facebook's first custom-built data center in Asia will be located in Singapore. It will support hundreds of jobs and form part of our growing presence in Singapore and across Asia," Facebook said in a statement.

Facebook's data centres are currently located across the US and in Europe.

In India, a government panel is currently working on the guidelines to ensure that data generated locally must be stored within the country.

The social media giant said it selected Singapore for robust infrastructure and access to fibre, a talented local workforce, and a great set of community partners, including the Singapore Economic Development Board.

"Singapore has also established policies that foster a business-friendly environment, including measures that support the enforcement of contracts and increase the ease of construction permitting," Facebook said.

The World Bank recently named Singapore as top country in Asia to do business.

The Singapore data centre will be the first to incorporate the new "StatePoint Liquid Cooling" system.

This technology minimises water and power consumption and can reduce the amount of peak water used by 20 per cent in climates like Singapore's, said Facebook.

The 11-storey facility will be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, Facebook added.