Microsoft’s Satya Nadella says he is ‘very, very bullish’ on Asia, especially China and India

The CEO of Microsoft says he is bullish about Asia, especially China and India, as Microsoft plans to build more data centers around the world.

“Absolutely. We’re very, very bullish about what’s happening in Asia,” Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, told CNBC’s Tanvir Gill in an interview Thursday, adding that Microsoft is investing in at least 11 regions.

“We’re absolutely committed to all of these countries and in China too. Today, we primarily work to support multinational companies that operate in China and multinational companies out of China.”

He also added that India has been a “massive growth market” after emerging from the pandemic.

“Microsoft’s presence in India was about mostly multinational companies operating in India. But for now, it’s completely changed,” he said.

“It’s the reverse where these companies who are innovating in India, whether it’s the big large conglomerates, or the new startups, are all using [artificial intelligence] cloud technology to be able to innovate and create services that are obviously popular in India and elsewhere,” he told CNBC.

Microsoft previously told Indian media outlet Economic Times that there’s a huge demand in development of new native cloud applications in India.

U.S. tech giants have been laying off workers on a large scale, but Nadella maintained that he was optimistic about the labor market there.

Meta has cut 11,000 workers, Snap is laying off more than 1,000 people, while Twitter cut about half its workforce last month after Elon Musk took control of the social media giant.

“The current labor markets are much more resilient,” said Nadella, adding that most companies from energy firms to banks and retailers need software engineers.

He added that no industry is immune to macroeconomic issues. “So everyone has to manage the costs and demand properly,” he said.

“One of the fascinating things about the U.S. is the amount of capital that’s getting invested,” he said, adding that new industrial infrastructure such as fabrication plants, power plants and battery factories are being built.

“I am much more focused on observing where what is happening in terms of new growth inside the United States. So I’m very, very optimistic about the U.S. and the world.”

Nadella replaced billionaire Steve Ballmer as Microsoft CEO in 2014. Prior to that, Nadella was executive vice-president of Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise group.

Microsoft shares were at $241.73 in after-hours trade. Shares have dropped 27.8% year-to-date.

— This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.