DayOne Data Centers Singapore Pte. secured RM15 billion (US$ 3.6 billion) of multicurrency financing to support its green data centers in Malaysia’s Johor state, according to Bloomberg News, quoting from a statement from Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd on Wednesday. OCCBC and its Malaysian unit OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd. acted as joint coordinators for the syndicated financing, which comprises a RM7.5 billion Islamic financing and a US$ 1.7 billion offshore term-loan facility.
The proceeds will be used for both refinancing and capital expenditure of DayOne’s data centers that are expected to obtain green digital infrastructure certification.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd. said that it was also involved in the syndicated financing, along with United Overseas Bank Ltd., CIMB Group Holdings Bhd., Malayan Banking Bhd., Credit Agricole CIB and Standard Chartered PLC. UOB said the financing was one of the largest in Southeast Asia for data centers and the biggest green Islamic syndicated facility in Malaysia.
Maybank said it underwrote RM2.5 billion, or the biggest portion, of the Islamic financing tranche for DayOne. DayOne’s anchor data center campuses will be located at Nusajaya and Kempas Tech Parks in Johor, and will be part of investments into the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone.
Malaysia is turning into a beneficiary of Asia’s growing need for data centers to support the boom in artificial intelligence. Johor — which sits across from the city-state of Singapore — has about 30 projects completed or under construction, plus 20 more awaiting approvals. Companies investing have included Microsoft Corp. and ByteDance Ltd.
Johor is expected to host 60% of Malaysia’s total data center capacity by 2030, Trade Minister Zafrul Aziz said in a speech delivered at the signing ceremony for the syndicated financing.
DayOne, formerly the international arm of GDS Holdings Ltd., is now an independent group after deconsolidation. The facility, which is its biggest-ever loan, would be among the largest syndicated financings for the sector by a borrower in Asia, Bloomberg News reported.
Earlier this month, DBS and UOB jointly arranged a 6.7 trillion rupiah (US$ 412 million) loan to fund a data center project in Indonesia that DayOne is helping to develop.