Global data centre market to hit US$4 tril by 2030; Apac sees bulk of 2024 investments: Knight Frank
The rise in international data hub market activity is expected to proceed in the coming years. Knight Frank estimates that the market will scratch an annual CAGR of 18% over the following 5 years, propelling it to reach US$ 4 trillion by 2030.
The buoyant outlook reflects mounting demand for AI-optimised framework, cloud services and enterprise electronic initiatives. Knight Frank projects that global data centre capacity will certainly increase 46%, or 20,828 megawatts (MW), over the next 2 years. By 2030, it predicts capacity might increase by 177%.
Johor is also on the right track for more fast expansion. Knight Frank estimates the southerly Malaysian state will certainly see 85% (335 MW) capability growth by 2027, backed by US$ 4.7 billion in investment.
The worldwide information centre industry is readied to see rapid growth in the next five years, following a good recoil in 2024. According to Knight Frank’s latest Global Information Centres Report, worldwide data centre property transaction quantity bounced back from an interest rate-hike pushed slump in 2023 to hit US$ 31.8 billion ($42.9 billion) in 2024, up 118% y-o-y.
Fred Fitzalan-Howard, Knight Frank’s Apac head of information centres, says that the Apac data centre market will include about 8 gigawatts of new storage capacity over the next 3 years, with a quarter of this alloted to AI workloads. While less than the global average due to the area’s Rate 2 or Tier 3 condition under United States AI diffusion rules, the pipeline stands for US$ 24 billion in capital expenditure and 20 to 30 million sq ft of real estate, he adds.
Across the causeway, Singapore continues to be a key data centre market regardless of regulatory and land constraints. However, the report emphasize that with uninhabited rates lower 1%, transactions in the city-state have moved towards smaller sized deals, in tandem with a surge in pricing.
Fitzalan-Howard sees the first financial investments as laying the structure for more AI facilities rollouts in the region. “However, attending to varied governing structures and adapting to United States export controls on AI chips remain vital factors in increasing Apac’s opportunities in this swiftly evolving industry,” he continues.
Apac is anticipated to include 4,174 MW of capacity by 2027, sustained by US$ 58.7 billion in planned investments over the very same time frame. Key factors include Tokyo, that is forecasted to see US$ 4.1 billion in financial investments over the next 2 years that will underpin 25% (295 MW) of capacity development.
International purchase values averaged US$ 75.4 million in 2024, up 15% y-o-y and 44% more than pre-Covid levels in 2019. Knight Frank’s research also spotted that Asia Pacific (Apac) dominated data centre ventures, with some US$ 15.5 billion, or 70%, of cross-border information centre deals happening in the area.
