Global data centre market to hit US$4 tril by 2030; Apac sees bulk of 2024 investments: Knight Frank
Fitzalan-Howard sees the preliminary financial investments as placing the foundation for even more AI framework rollouts in the region. “Nevertheless, addressing different regulative structures and adapting to US export regulates on AI chips continue to be crucial factors in increasing Apac’s chances in this quickly advancing sector,” he continues.
The resilient outlook reflects mounting need for AI-optimised facilities, cloud solutions and business digital efforts. Knight Frank projects that international data hub capacity will certainly increase 46%, or 20,828 megawatts (MW), over the following 2 years. By 2030, it anticipates capacity might broaden by 177%.
Apac is expected to add 4,174 MW of capacity by 2027, sustained by US$ 58.7 billion in planned financial investments over the same period. Key factors include Tokyo, which is predicted to see US$ 4.1 billion in investments over the next 2 years that will underpin 25% (295 MW) of capability growth.
Johor is likewise on the right track for additional fast expansion. Knight Frank approximates the southerly Malaysian state will see 85% (335 MW) ability development by 2027, backed by US$ 4.7 billion in investment.
Fred Fitzalan-Howard, Knight Frank’s Apac head of data centres, states that the Apac data centre industry will include about 8 gigawatts of brand-new storage capacity over the next 3 years, with a quarter of this dedicated to AI workloads. While lower than the global standard due to the area’s Tier 2 or Tier 3 standing under United States AI diffusion rules, the pipeline represents US$ 24 billion in capital expenditure and 20 to 30 million sq ft of realty, he includes.
Across the causeway, Singapore remains a key information centre market regardless of governing and land restraints. However, the record highlights that with vacant rates below 1%, transactions in the city-state have actually moved towards smaller sized deals, in tandem with an upsurge in pricing.
Global deal values equated US$ 75.4 million in 2024, up 15% y-o-y and 44% higher than pre-Covid levels in 2019. Knight Frank’s research study also identified that Asia Pacific (Apac) dominated information centre investments, with some US$ 15.5 billion, or 70%, of cross-border data centre deals taking place in the region.
The rise in worldwide data centre industry activity is expected to continue in the coming years. Knight Frank approximates that the market is going to scratch a yearly CAGR of 18% over the next five years, propelling it to strike US$ 4 trillion by 2030.
The worldwide information facility market is set to see quick development in the next five years, following a strong rebound in 2024. According to Knight Frank’s latest Global Information Centres Report, worldwide information centre realty transaction volume bounced back from an interest rate-hike pushed downtrend in 2023 to hit US$ 31.8 billion ($42.9 billion) in 2024, up 118% y-o-y.
