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This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Malaysia’s Richest 2025. See the full list here.
Malaysia is emerging as a significant player in the competitive landscape of hyperscale AI data centers. This trend is particularly evident in Johor, a state in the southern region of the country, which has transitioned from a quiet agricultural area into a bustling hub for technology parks, replacing palm oil and rubber plantations.
Following Singapore’s stringent regulations on new data center projects initiated in 2021 after ending a prior moratorium that had begun in 2019, Malaysia has positioned itself as Southeast Asia’s top destination for digital infrastructure development. Global property consultancy Knight Frank reports that the country has attracted over $23 billion in investments over the past year, accounting for more than half of the $44 billion being allocated to the region by major firms, including Amazon, Google, and Oracle.
The flood of investment from these tech giants is driven by soaring demand for both cloud computing and AI technologies. Among those benefiting from this trend are Malaysian business leaders, many of whom have backgrounds in agriculture. Some are venturing into the construction of data centers, while others are profiting by selling land to firms developing these facilities.
Robert Kuok, Malaysia’s wealthiest individual, has invested in K2 Strategic, a data center business spearheaded by his grandson, Kuok Meng Wei, in Singapore. With plans to amplify its data center capacity in Malaysia to 240 megawatts (MW), K2 Strategic is on a rapid growth trajectory.
YTL Corporation, led by Francis Yeoh and with diverse business interests including cement and hospitality, is collaborating with Nvidia to establish a 500MW data center complex in Johor, which will be supplemented by a nearby solar energy facility. In addition, engineering firms are also capitalizing on this trend. Sunway Construction, driven by billionaire Jeffrey Cheah, has secured contracts totaling nearly 1 billion ringgit ($227 million) to construct data centers, including projects for K2 Strategic.
Investment Boom
Global tech leaders, including Microsoft and Oracle, are competing to establish data centers in Malaysia, investing over $23 billion in this endeavor.
Source: Knight Frank
According to Hussaini Saifee, an analyst at Maybank in Singapore, the demand for data centers is robust. The trend of migrating corporate data to the cloud, combined with the rise of AI applications, is significantly propelling this demand. Estimates from Maybank suggest that over the next five years, more than 2 gigawatts of new data center facilities will be constructed in Malaysia.
Landowners are experiencing substantial benefits, including Gooi Seong Lim, a magnate in palm oil and construction, whose firm Crescendo has earned $137 million since 2023 by selling over 40 hectares of land to firms like Microsoft. Microsoft has allocated $2.2 billion for its projects in Malaysia, which includes a recent purchase of a 59-hectare site in a business park owned by real estate developer Leong Kok Wah’s Eco World Development for over $150 million, positively impacting Eco World’s share values.
“Demand looks really strong.”
Since the start of last year, Eco World has benefitted from over $180 million in land sales, one of which was to the Princeton Digital Group backed by Warburg Pincus. Meanwhile, Danny Tan Chee Sing’s Tropicana has made $140 million from selling more than 43 hectares of land to NTT Global Data Centers from Japan and China’s ZData Technologies.
Scaling Up
The surge in data center construction within Malaysia has accelerated due to Singapore’s land and electricity restrictions.
Source: Knight Frank
The availability of expansive, affordable land combined with sufficient electricity and water resources makes Johor an appealing choice for leading data center operators. Estimated projections indicate that Johor will represent approximately 400MW of total data center capacity by the end of 2024, significantly outpacing the 107MW capacity in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley.
Billionaire Joseph Tsai, co-founder of Alibaba, expressed concerns during a keynote in Hong Kong about a potential market bubble emerging from the vehement construction activity. Nevertheless, analyst Saifee from Maybank believes that there is still room for expansion, asserting that demand has not hit its peak. He notes that companies like ByteDance, the parent firm of TikTok, are increasing their data center investments in the area. Saifee comments on the current landscape: “There’s plenty of land and sufficient electricity and water in Malaysia.”
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