Amazon's computing unit Amazon Web Service (AWS) will be investing €1.2 billion (RM5.69 billion) in Italy over the next five years in a further expansion of its data centre (DC) business in the country.

The plan was part of the tech giant's effort to boost its cloud offer in Europe under which AWS launched its first cloud region in Italy in 2020 with the prospect to invest €2 billion by 2029.

The investment would support up to 5,500 jobs through 2029 across the AWS data centre supply chain, the company said in a statement.

Jobs will range from construction, facility maintenance, engineering, telecommunications and jobs within the broader local economy, it added.

It was first reported in May that AWS was in talks with Rome to invest billions of euros in the expansion of its business in the country.

In May, AWS launched the AWS Asia Pacific data centre in Malaysia to help local businesses and organisations run their applications closer to home and serve their users more efficiently.

As part of its long-term commitment, AWS is planning to invest an estimated US$6.2 billion (RM27.28 billion) in Malaysia through 2038.