Princeton Digital Group Pte (PDG), a Singapore-based data centre operator, is making its first investment in Malaysia as foreign capital inflow continues to bolster the market.
The Warburg Pincus-backed digital infrastructure company has agreed to acquire a 31-acre plot from JLand Group (JLG), Johor Corporation’s real estate and infrastructure arm.
Dubbed JH1, the 150-MW hyper-scale campus will be built within Sedenak Tech Park in Johor, which is the second-largest state of Malaysia.
The company is injecting 2 billion ringgit ($450 million) into the first 60 MW phase, which is set to begin operations by the second quarter of 2023, said a company statement.
Princeton Digtal’s foray into Malaysia makes it the sixth market that it has expanded into after Singapore, China, Indonesia, India, and Japan.
“Our entry into Malaysia adds to PDG’s growing footprint in Asia, further strengthening our presence as the pan-Asia digital infrastructure leader,” said Rangu Salgame, chairman & CEO of Princeton Digital Group.
| Rank | Market |
|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore |
| 2 | Hong Kong |
| 3 | Sydney, Seoul* |
| 5 | Tokyo |
| 6 | Beijing |
| 7 | Mumbai |
| 8 | Shanghai |
| 9 | Melbourne |
| 10 | Kuala Lumpur |
*Ranking tie
Source: Cushman & Wakefield’s Asia Pacific Data Centre Update: H2 2022
Data centres supply in the Southeast Asian nation is mostly concentrated in its digital hub Cyberjaya and Kuala Lumpur, ranked among Asia Pacific’s top 10 markets for the sector, according to brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield. But Johor, which is one of the region’s emerging markets, has been garnering pools of capital from overseas data centre operators and hyperscalers from the US, Europe, and China over the last couple of years with the fast-growing demand for cloud services.
Recent site and property sales in Johor
| Sale date | Buyer | Capacity | Size | Site/property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2021 | GDS Holdings | 54 megawatts | 12.49 acres | GDS Data Centre |
| October 2021 | Bridge Data Centres | 100 megawatts | 38 acres | Bridge Data Centre |
| March 2022 | Yondr Group | 200 megawatts | 72.8 acres | Yondr Data Centre |
| April 2022 | Joint venture between YTL Power International and GDS | 168 megawatts | Undisclosed | YTL Green Data Centre Park |
| November 2022 | Equinix | Undisclosed | 1,960 square metres in colocation space | Equinix Data Centre |
Source: Cushman & Wakefield’s Asia Pacific Data Centre Update: H2 2022, DealStreetAsia
Equinix, Yondr Group and Shanghai-based GDS Holdings are among the data centre players who announced project developments in the city last year. The city currently has around 568 MW of data centre development in the pipeline, as of December 2022, per data compiled by Cushman.
“At this point, the focus for JLG is expanding data centre opportunities as investors and operators are prioritising the sector’s fast-growing prospects,” said Datuk Syed Mohamed, president and chief executive of Johor Corporation and chairman of JLG, which was launched in January this year.
In 2022, Malaysia was also among the top investor destinations for data centres that recorded 113 MW in development, contributing to GDP growth of 8.7%, per Knight Frank’s data.
Princeton Digital most recently announced that it is expanding its footprint into Indonesia’s Batam with a 96-MW data centre project worth close to $1 billion in February. The company raised $500 million in a funding round led by Mubadala Investment Company last year.