Investment

Major investments announced for green data centre development in Malaysia

Major investments announced for green data centre development in Malaysia

Despite the growing concern about the development of data centres in the country – and particularly in Johor, as we reported on Tuesday – this week has seen some major financing deals that aim to further boost the data centre industry in Malaysia, though both deals emphasise their green credentials.

Hyperscale data centre platform AirTrunk says it has secured US$2.325 billion in green financing under its Green Financing Framework to support the sustainable development of its JHB2 hyperscale data centre campus in Johor Bahru.

The financing is described as the largest green project finance transaction for a single data centre in Malaysia and AirTrunk’s largest single-asset financing to date.

The funding will support the development of JHB2, which is designed to achieve industry-leading energy and water efficiency, targeting a design power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.37 and utilising advanced water-efficient cooling technology.

AirTrunk says margin savings generated through the transaction will continue to support its social impact programme in Malaysia, including recycled water programmes in schools, disaster relief and STEM education initiatives.

A consortium of 30 local and international financial institutions backed the green loan, making it one of the largest lending groups assembled for a data centre financing in Malaysia.

The transaction also marks AirTrunk’s first financing from International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, establishing a long-term partnership with the institution.

The financing builds on AirTrunk’s broader sustainability strategy, which, it says, combines investment in energy-efficient infrastructure, renewable energy procurement, water stewardship and community partnerships to support the responsible growth of cloud and AI infrastructure across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region.

Meanhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a leading multilateral development bank supporting sustainable, inclusive and resilient growth across Asia and the Pacific, says it will invest up to MYR300 million (approximately US$75.8 million) in an Islamic bond (sukuk) issued by Sime Darby Property NEV (Holdings), a member of Sime Darby Property, one of Malaysia’s largest property developers, to support the development of digital infrastructure in Malaysia.

The investment is part of a sukuk wakalah programme, an Islamic financing structure in which an agent deploys funds from multiple issuances into Shariah-compliant assets or businesses.

It is Malaysia’s first sukuk for digital infrastructure and ADB’s first Islamic finance investment. Proceeds will fund the development of data centres in Sime Darby Property’s flagship industrial township, Elmina Business Park, about 30 kilometres northwest of Kuala Lumpur.

As the data centres are designed to be energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable, the sukuk qualifies as a green instrument in line with international sustainable bond standards.

Maybank Islamic Berhad and OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad have also committed to invest in the sukuk while the Credit Guarantee & Investment Facility, an ADB trust fund, is providing a partial guarantee. In addition to investing in the bond, ADB acted as the joint sustainability structuring advisor.

ADB says this project supports its broader efforts to expand support for digital transformation, including its commitment to mobilise US$20 billion by 2035 to finance digital corridors, data infrastructure and artificial intelligence-ready economies across Asia and the Pacific. It also aligns with the bank’s objective to strengthen Islamic finance across Southeast Asia, as well as ADB’s US$6 billion programme to deepen the region’s capital markets.



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