The discussion centred on the booming investment in Asia-Pacific (APAC) markets, driven by increasing demand for cloud and AI solutions, regional challenges, and strategies for sustainable growth.

• Jonathan Atkin, managing director – RBC Capital Markets (moderator)
• Diarmid Massey, CEO, data centres – ESR
• Ed Martin-Sperry, chief investment officer – Evolution Data Centers
• Varoon Raghavan, co-founder and chief operating officer – PRINCETON DIGITAL GROUP
• Suren Maheswaran, senior regional director, site selection & lease execution APAC – Microsoft
• Rachit Mohan, APAC lead, data centre leasing – JLL

The panel identified AI and cloud computing as twin drivers of hyperscale data centre development. Varoon Raghavan, co-founder and COO of Princeton Digital Group noted: “In the last 12 months, we’ve seen more AI than we had ever seen before and significantly larger [deployments].”

He highlighted that cloud demand, while steady, is being complemented by surging AI requirements, particularly in markets like Mumbai, Tokyo, and Johor. This aligns with the broader trend of hyperscalers expanding capacity to accommodate AI workloads, alongside traditional cloud services.

Markets such as Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam were highlighted for their growth potential. Ed Martin-Sperry, chief investment officer at Evolution Data Centers, pointed to Thailand as a beneficiary of power constraints in Singapore and Malaysia: “Thailand… is a natural place to look at next. The reserve margin is high. It’s a gas-fired grid, which means the carbon intensity is low.”

These markets are increasingly attracting hyperscale investments, offering lower costs and abundant power, making them attractive alternatives to more mature tier-one markets.

AI workloads are reshaping hyperscale infrastructure requirements. The panel observed a growing segmentation between training and inference workloads, with each requiring distinct solutions. Training workloads, which are power-intensive, can be situated in remote areas with lower power costs, while inference workloads demand low latency and proximity to end users. Martin-Sperry remarked: “For training, the connectivity is less of an issue. So the ability to put them further out of town is more straightforward.”

The shift towards AI-specific infrastructure is expected to drive investments in high-density data centres equipped with direct-to-chip and liquid cooling technologies.

Power constraints emerged as a dominant challenge for both tier-one and secondary markets. Suren Maheswaran of Microsoft identified power as the key limiting factor: “The biggest challenge would be the availability of power. That’s one of the key things that is constraining or becoming a bigger issue in tier-one markets,” he told the audience.

With tier-one cities facing power shortages, hyperscalers are increasingly turning to secondary markets, which offer greater resource availability.

The impact of data sovereignty was also debated. While regulatory demands for data localisation and sovereignty were acknowledged as significant, Raghavan argued they are often overstated: “Sovereignty is often a strong argument to set up [new markets] … but once you set the region in place, really the use case that drives it is proximity to the customer.”

In India, for instance, regulators such as the Reserve Bank of India have driven localisation in the financial sector. However, much of the investment is guided by customer demand and strategic opportunities rather than purely regulatory pressures.

The need for a robust supply chain and reliable infrastructure was underscored. High build costs in Japan, for instance, contrast sharply with lower costs in Malaysia and India, influencing the location of new facilities. Martin-Sperry noted that supply chain efficiency and the availability of skilled talent also play critical roles in market viability.

Sustainability is a growing concern in the data centre industry. The panellists highlighted the importance of low-carbon energy grids in emerging markets. Thailand’s gas-fired grid was cited as a positive example, while Malaysia and Vietnam were identified as areas with ongoing challenges.
Diarmid Massey, CEO of ESR, emphasised the role of energy efficiency in future developments, advocating for green energy solutions to address hyperscale power demands.

For hyperscalers like Microsoft, the ability to collaborate effectively with third-party data centre operators is crucial. Maheswaran stressed the importance of timely and safe delivery of projects:
“Delivery on time, delivery that meets safety requirements, no compromising for that.”

He also highlighted the strategic advantage of partners who can offer expansion capabilities within existing campuses or adjacent sites, enabling scalable growth.