Dubai-based conglomerate Damac Group is expanding its global footprint into Southeast Asia’s burgeoning data center market. Through its subsidiary Edgnex Data Centers, the company plans to invest approximately $3 billion to develop data centers in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand over the next five years.
Bloomberg reported that the company has acquired land for two more data centers in Malaysia and Indonesia each. It is also exploring similar facilities in Vietnam and the Philippines, and will announce its plans in 2025.
The Southeast Asian outlay is part of a plan to spend $5 billion to $7 billion on expanding Edgnex operations around the world. This move comes as Southeast Asia emerges as a key digital hub for AI and cloud service
Southeast Asia is one of the fastest growing data centres regions in the Asia Pacific. In light of the 2019 Singaporean moratorium on new data centres – since lifted, data center developments have surged in countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Cloud service providers have expanded their market presence through both organic growth and strategic investments in self-build infrastructure. In addition, government incentives for digitalization have fueled demand for cloud services
The first phase of their data center in Thailand, comprising 5 MW of capacity, is expected to be operational in early 2025. With more than 550 MW of anticipated capacity in Southeast Asia, Edgnex may potentially invest $5 billion market there and is poised to grow even more.