Equinix Enters Malaysia With $40M Investment in Johor Data Centre

Equinix on Wednesday announced its entry into Malaysia with a plan to build a hyperscale data centre in Johor state at an initial investment of $40 million, as rising demand continues to propel the digital infrastructure race in Southeast Asian markets.

The International Business Exchange facility, dubbed JH1, is scheduled to begin operations in the first quarter of 2024 and provide 500 cabinets and 1,960 square metres (21,097 square feet) of co-location space, Equinix said in a release.

The expansion marks the US giant’s second foray into Southeast Asia, following recently announced plans to enter Indonesia with development of a $74 million IBX co-location facility in central Jakarta.

“Establishing a presence in Johor strengthens Equinix’s leadership position in Asia Pacific within a strategic market such as Malaysia, one of the most requested markets in Asia Pacific by our global customers,” said Equinix Asia Pacific president Jeremy Deutsch.

Serving Singapore’s Spillover

The two-storey JH1 facility will be located at Nusajaya Tech Park in Iskandar, Johor, about 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) from Singapore — allowing the data centre to address excess demand from the city-state in addition to Malaysian domestic demand.

Equinix also has the option of acquiring additional land at the tech park to build a second facility, supporting Malaysia’s aspirations to accelerate growth of digital products and services under the MyDigital initiative.

Malaysia’s digital economy is forecast to reach $34 billion in gross merchandise value by 2025, with the country on course to achieve a digital economy contribution to GDP of at least 25.5 percent that same year, Equinix said, citing figures from e-Conomy SEA and the Malaysian government.

Johor chief minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi noted that data centres are integral in supporting digital ecosystems and their sustained growth.

“We welcome this investment by Equinix, along with the global expertise they bring to Johor, as well as the rich digital experiences and outcomes that will benefit this state and the country,” Onn Hafiz said.

Hotly Contested Region

Silicon Valley-based Equinix has 51 data centres in Asia Pacific across 13 metros in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

The company’s first two projects in Southeast Asia are joining a hotly contested race for digital infrastructure dominance in the region among well-funded asset managers and developers.

In Malaysia, Shanghai-based GDS Holdings has hooked up with YTL Power International to co-develop 168 megawatts of data centre capacity across eight individual facilities at a campus in Johor state.

YTL Power’s digital infrastructure arm, Singapore-headquartered YTL Data Center Holdings, is developing 500MW of capacity at the solar-powered campus in the Iskandar region surrounding Johor Bahru — the southernmost city in Malaysia — to supply rack space to operators in the country and across the border in the Lion City.

Last week, US-based DigitalBridge Group announced plans to acquire a 49 percent interest in AIMS Data Centre from Malaysian telecom firm Time dotCom for MYR 2.01 billion ($438 million), with plans to grow the data centre platform in Southeast Asia.

BDx Indonesia, meanwhile, revealed plans earlier this month to develop a 100MW data centre campus near Jakarta as the operator’s fifth server-hosting facility in and around the capital, signalling a robust expansion in the fast-growing market. The new data centre is the first greenfield project for BDx Indonesia since its formation as a joint venture of Singapore-based Big Data Exchange and local firms Indosat and Lintasarta.