Developers in Malaysia with data center assets are increasingly looking at Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) listings to monetise their completed assets, de-gear, unlock synergies and optimize portfolios, according to the latest Maybank IBG Research note. Among such developers is S.P. Setia Berhad (SPSB) which plans to seed its proposed REIT with industrial build-to-rent assets including data centers. The firm plans to allocate about 40–50 acres in each of its industrial parks for this purpose. Additional assets from its industrial parks in Penang and Selangor, could be injected over time as the portfolio grows. The management views REITs as a key essential vehicle for long-term recurring income, complementing its property development business, the note stated.
Other developers include Sime Darby Property Berhad (SDPR) whose Phase 1 data center will be ready by end-2026, while its Phase 2 data center and Eco World Development Group Berhad’s (ECW) data center in Puncak Alam, are expected to be completed and start contributing to earnings in 2H27, it added.
In April last year, w.media spoke to Dato’ Stewart LaBrooy, Executive Chairman, AREA Group of Companies in an exclusive interview on why Malaysia does not have a data center REIT yet. The answer, according to LaBrooy, is quite simply because Malaysia does not have the scale yet for a pure play REIT unlike Singapore which is a mature hub for data centers.
“The lack of completed hyperscale data centers and the ownership structure of the data centers means you won’t see anyone listing a pure play DC REIT in Malaysia anytime soon,” LaBrooy had said. Most of the hyperscale data centers are expected to only come online in 2026 and beyond.
He further reckoned that the first pure play data center REIT in Malaysia could likely be listed by Sime Darby Property due to a convergence of favourable factors – hyperscale data center, reliable tenant like Google, 20-year leases, stable long-term recurring income and exponential growth in the sector.
Fast forward eight months later, it would appear LaBrooy’s prediction is quite accurate although it remains to be seen which developer would be the first to list a data center REIT, whether it’s a pure play REIT or one that has data centers as one of its component assets.
Industrial parks in Malaysia have performed well since the pandemic, spurred by the sharp rise in e-commerce and logistics demand, followed by stronger foreign investment inflows amid US–China trade tensions and supply-chain reconfiguration. This momentum was further reinforced by data center demand, which drove sizeable land transactions especially in 2024 and lifted sentiment towards the industrial segment over the past few years. As a result, industrial properties emerged as one of the strongest-performing sub-segments within the property sector, giving earnings visibility and better take-up rate compared with residential, office and retail, according to the note.
Among industrial regions, Maybank Research believed the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JSSEZ) will continue to lead given its government to government (G2G) backing, while Malaysia Vision Valley (MVV) and Kedah (Kulim) are gaining traction as lower-cost alternatives to KL–Selangor and Penang, respectively.