Christina Tan Takes Over as Chair of Keppel Data Centre REIT

The manager of Keppel DC REIT, which owns more than one million square feet of data centre space, has appointed Christina Tan as chairman of the board of directors of the Singapore-listed trust, effective Wednesday.

The new role comes in addition to Tan’s responsibilities as  CEO of Keppel Capital Holdings, the asset management arm of Singaporean property and infrastructure conglomerate Keppel Group. With over two decades of investment and fund management experience worldwide, she succeeds Chan Hon Chew and will take on his role as chairman of the executive committee of the data centre REIT.

Data Centre REIT Grew 50% Since 2014

Chan has served on the board of the data centre REIT since it was listed on the Singapore Exchange in December 2014. As chairman, he oversaw a 50 percent expansion of Keppel DC REIT’s portfolio – from around S$1.0 billion at the time of listing to S$1.51 billion ($1.13 billion) as year-end 2017. He also serves as CFO of Keppel Corporation.

“Since its listing, Keppel DC REIT has maintained its focused investment strategy and proactive asset management approach to deliver value to Unitholders under Hon Chew’s stewardship,” commented Tan in a statement.

Since 2003 Tan was a founding member of Alpha Investment Partners, Keppel’s real estate investment arm, where she is currently deputy chairman. Prior to that, she served as the chief financial officer of GRA (Singapore) Private Limited, Prudential’s Asian real estate fund management business. The executive has also worked at Chartered Industries of Singapore, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), and Ernst & Young.

Keppel Group Builds Up Global Data Centre Footprint

Keppel DC REIT owns 14 income-generating data centres across ten cities in eight countries in Asia Pacific and Europe. Keppel Capital Holdings has a 50 percent interest in the REIT’s manager, Keppel DC REIT Management. The remaining stake is held by the REIT’s sponsor Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation Ltd (Keppel T&T).

The REIT’s facilities have an occupancy rate of 93.7 percent and a weighted average lease expiry of 9.6 years. The trust’s manager reported unaudited revenues of $38 million for the first quarter of 2018, up 17.9 percent year-on-year.

At the start of the month, Keppel DC REIT completed the acquisition of maincubes Data Centre, a new four-storey facility valued at 84 million euros in Offenbach am Main, Germany.

In addition to the REIT, Keppel Group has raised a total of at least $1 billion for server facilities through its Alpha Data Centre Fund (ADCF), including a $350 million commitment from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) announced last October.