ESR, STT GDC, Baker Mac, Yardi to Kick Off Data Centre Forum With Hyperscale Panel

Experts from ESR, ST Telemedia, Baker McKenzie and Yardi will help launch the sixth edition of the Mingtiandi Data Centre Forum on Thursday with a panel discussion on investing in Asia’s hyperscale market.

Some 55 percent of investors rank hyperscale as the most attractive segment of APAC’s data centre market, followed distantly by powered shell (20 percent) and co-location (12 percent), according to Mingtiandi’s 2025 Data Centre Survey conducted in July. Viewing the event is free of charge and you may register through the link below.

To take a closer look at the race to build infrastructure for the region’s largest data centre clients, the forum welcomes Diarmid Massey, CEO of data centres at ESR; Michael Tanujaya, head of investments and strategy at ST Telemedia Global Data Centres; Edwin Wong, partner at Baker McKenzie; and Bernie Devine, senior regional director for APAC at Yardi, the forum’s sponsor.

The one-hour session will stream live on MTD TV at 10am Hong Kong time. Immediately after the discussion, Mingtiandi’s team will host a live Q&A session for viewers to engage directly with the panellists on current trends, opportunities and the future of Asia’s hyperscale investment.

Generative AI, Cloud Surge

Some 71 percent of organisations report using generative AI in at least one business function, up from 65 percent last year, according to a global survey by Mckinsey & Co. At the same time, worldwide revenue generated by cloud services hit an all-time high of $94 billion in the first quarter of 2025, leaping 27 percent from year-earlier levels, per Synergy Research Group.

To meet growing demand for AI and cloud applications in East Asia’s key markets, Singapore-based ESR teamed with US hyperscaler Stack Infrastructure to develop a 48-megawatt project in Incheon and a 72MW facility in Greater Osaka. ESR’s first hyperscale campus, the 130MW Cosmosquare in Osaka, is under construction in partnership with US builder CloudHQ.

The recently privatised ESR has made data centre development a focal point of its next growth phase, as the industrial giant commands 2 gigawatts of secured land and power across Asia Pacific, with confirmed additions to raise future capacity.

STT GDC, meanwhile, is also expanding rapidly in the region, having already launched a 70MW facility in Japan and broken ground on the first phase of its 120MW Johor campus. The operator’s key investors include majority shareholder Temasek and a KKR-Singtel consortium, which invested $1.3 billion in June 2024.

Southeast Asia to Follow

The Mingtiandi Data Centre Forum continues on Tuesday 16 September with a panel discussion on the forces attracting data centre investors to Southeast Asia.

With Thailand and Malaysia accounting for 64 percent of newly planned capacity in APAC during the first half of 2025, according to Cushman & Wakefield, the subregion is becoming the centre of data centre investment in the region.

The Southeast panel brings together Yasuo Suzuki, executive vice president for APAC at NTT Global Data Centres; Woon Teng Koh, senior director for acquisitions at Digital Realty; and Baker McKenzie partner Robert Wright.