NAIROBI: Conglomerate YTL Group has been exploring opportunities in the independent power producer or IPP sector, data centres and artificial intelligence (AI), says YTL Power International Bhd
executive director Yeoh Keong Hann.
“Hopefully, in the next year or two, YTL can establish a presence in South Africa, but these are areas where we will need to double down and conduct further research,” he said when asked how soon YTL would enter the South African market.
Energy and water are the bedrock of data centres and AI, and it is vital to have a stable supply of both for any country to prosper in these areas, he told Malaysian media in South Africa.
“Besides energy, YTL also has expertise in water.
“South Africa wants us to bring some of our expertise in this area as well,” he said.
YTL-owned Wessex Water in the United Kingdom is the highest-ranked water company in the country.
“So, we are talking to them about the possibility of not just building a single data centre or supplying one large language model, but offering an end-to-end sovereign solution that can help South Africa,” Yeoh pointed out.
Yeoh was in South Africa as part of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s delegation on a tour of three African countries, namely Ethiopia, South Africa and Kenya. — Bernama
