MALAYSIA'S DATA CENTRE-RELATED INVESTMENTS AT RM76 BLN AS OF MARCH 2023

Malaysia's data centre-related investments has increased exponentially from 2021 to March 2023, with investments totalling RM76 billion, said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.

He noted that Malaysia has increasingly captured the global data centre business in Southeast Asia due to a combination of factors, namely, proactive investor facilitation, cost-efficiency, a large landbank and seamless connectivity to Asia and beyond through 22 submarine cable networks and 14 landing stations. 

This was in line with the government's target to make Malaysia a regional data centre hub for ASEAN and Asia, he said to reporters after officiating the launch of the GDS NTP data centre campus in the Nusajaya Technology Park.

Also present was state Investment, Trade and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Lee Ting Han.

Earlier in his speech, Tengku Zafrul also highlighted the exchange of the Electric Supply Agreement (ESA) between Tenaga Nasional Bhd and four prominent data centre players.

“With the ESA, these data centre players have strategically secured power with a total capacity of 1,500 megawatts, marking a significant milestone in Malaysia's digital and sustainable technology landscape,” he said.

On the same note, he said digital economy stands as one of Malaysia's foremost economic cornerstones, contributing a substantial 23.2% to the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) or RM348 billion in 2021. 

“This contribution is expected to reach 25.5% by 2025, or more than RM382 billion.

“As for the data centre market share in Malaysia, the projection is nothing short of remarkable, with an expected average annual growth rate of 16% or US$2.08 billion (US$1=RM4.57) from 2021 to 2026,” said Tengku Zafrul.