Malaysia has emerged as one of the key beneficiaries of a boom in data centres.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is expected to introduce the National Sustainable Data Centre Framework in October which must balance attracting investors with enforcing credible sustainability standards, analysts say.
The surging energy demand of data centres poses a mounting challenge to global climate goals and the framework is to centralise approvals and embed stronger efficiency, water, and renewable requirements to balance growth and sustainability, said Hong Leong Investment Bank Research (HLIB Research).
Malaysia has emerged as one of the key beneficiaries of a boom in data centres, particularly after Singapore imposed its moratorium on new developments in 2019 due to land and power constraints.
Against this backdrop, HLIB Research identified four companies – Sunway Construction Group Bhd
, Sime Darby Property Bhd (SimeProp), Gamuda Bhd, and YTL Power International Bhd – as being best positioned to benefit from Malaysia’s push to become a sustainable data centre hub.
The research house said Sunway Construction has expertise in district and liquid cooling that could be used for advanced data centre facilities, while
SimeProp could leverage its green townships and track record in serving global data centre clients.
Meanwhile, Gamuda is anchored by its Green Plan of building energy-efficient, renewable energy-powered data centres, and YTL Power has a clear ambition to run its data centre portfolio on 100% renewable energy (RE).
The sustainability framework aims to unify and harmonise policies across agencies and states, designating the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) as the central approval authority for new projects and expansions.
The centralisation is crucial to avoid fragmented oversight, a challenge that has historically slowed investment approvals.
This signals to global investors Malaysia is building a coherent, long-term roadmap for sustainable digital infrastructure.
HLIB Research said it believes the new framework should build upon and unify existing mechanisms into a single cohesive structure rather than replacing them.
A core pillar of Malaysia’s sustainable data centre agenda lies in the establishment of measurable key performance indicators.
