Microsoft Buying Malaysia Data Centre Site From EcoWorld for $85M

A data centre unit of tech giant Microsoft has agreed to acquire a development site in Malaysia for MYR 402.3 million ($85.5 million).

The land’s seller, Kuala Lumpur-based developer EcoWorld, announced the all-cash deal this week in a stock filing. Microsoft Payments (Malaysia) plans to develop data centres and other ancillary buildings on the land at Eco Business Park VI in Kulai district of Johor state, one of Asia’s hottest server-hosting destinations.

Payment for the site measuring 123.1 acres (49.8 hectares) is to be made in two instalments, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of 2025, according to the Monday filing.

“The group believes that the presence of an internationally recognised technology leader choosing to set up a sizeable data centre here will further drive demand for EBP VI’s other industrial products,” EcoWorld said.

Tech Titan Goes Big

The sale to Microsoft comes less than six months after EcoWorld completed its acquisition of the 403.8 acres for Eco Business Park VI from Malaysian development giant IOI Properties for MYR 211 million.

In May, US-based Microsoft said it would invest $2.2 billion over the next four years to support Malaysia’s digital transformation, representing the company’s single largest investment in its 32-year history in the country.

“Our investments in digital infrastructure and skilling will help Malaysian businesses, communities, and developers apply the latest technology to drive inclusive economic growth and innovation across the country,” Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said last month in Kuala Lumpur.

Elsewhere in the region, Microsoft plans to invest $2.9 billion in data centres in Japan by 2025 as part of a push driven by the rise of artificial intelligence and growing concerns among governments that a country’s data should be managed domestically, Nikkei Asia reported.

Johor Gold Rush

Also this week, Malaysian developer UEM Sunrise announced an agreement to sell two parcels of land in Johor state to a “global data centre player” for MYR 144.9 million ($30.7 million).

Located in Iskandar Puteri’s East Ledang township west of Johor Bahru, the freehold plots measure 28.9 acres in total and will be developed into a data centre expected to feature cutting-edge technologies. The buyer wasn’t identified, but an account in The Edge Malaysia on Wednesday linked the deal to Singapore telecom major Singtel.

Increased activity in Johor has helped push Malaysia to the top of the list of APAC’s fastest-growing data centre markets, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.

Johor’s Sedenak Tech Park is the site of Singapore-based Princeton Digital Group’s planned 150-megawatt data centre campus, with the Warburg Pincus-backed firm due to start operations at the 60MW first phase in the second quarter of this year.

Shanghai-based GDS, which kicked off its Southeast Asia expansion in Malaysia in 2021 with a 54MW hyperscale facility at Johor’s Nusajaya Tech Park, is also co-developing eight facilities with 168MW of capacity in Johor with partner YTL Power International.