Global data centre market to hit US$4 tril by 2030; Apac sees bulk of 2024 investments: Knight Frank
The international data center industry is readied to see quick growth in the upcoming five years, following a strong rebound in 2024. According to Knight Frank’s latest Global Data Centres Report, worldwide information centre realty transactions quantity got better from an interest rate-hike led slump in 2023 to hit US$ 31.8 billion ($42.9 billion) in 2024, up 118% y-o-y.
Fitzalan-Howard sees the preliminary financial investments as placing the structure for more AI infrastructure rollouts in the region. “Nevertheless, addressing different governing frameworks and adjusting to US export manages on AI chips continue to be important consider maximising Apac’s chances in this quickly developing market,” he proceeds.
Across the causeway, Singapore stays a key information centre market regardless of regulatory and land restrictions. Nevertheless, the record highlights that with uninhabited rates lower 1%, transactions in the city-state have actually shifted towards smaller offers, in tandem with a rise in rates.
The surge in global data facility industry activity is expected to proceed in the coming years. Knight Frank estimates that the market will notch an annual CAGR of 18% over the next 5 years, propelling it to strike US$ 4 trillion by 2030.
The buoyant outlook reflects mounting need for AI-optimised framework, cloud services and business digital initiatives. Knight Frank projects that global information centre capacity will increase 46%, or 20,828 megawatts (MW), over the following two years. By 2030, it anticipates capability could increase by 177%.
Apac is expected to include 4,174 MW of capacity by 2027, supported by US$ 58.7 billion in planned financial investments over the exact same time frame. Key contributors consist of Tokyo, that is forecasted to see US$ 4.1 billion in financial investments over the following 2 years that will underpin 25% (295 MW) of capability growth.
International transaction values averaged 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 spotted that Asia Pacific (Apac) dominated data centre financial investments, with some US$ 15.5 billion, or 70%, of cross-border information centre deals taking place in the region.
Johor is likewise on course for further rapid expansion. Knight Frank approximates the southerly Malaysian state will see 85% (335 MW) ability development by 2027, supported by US$ 4.7 billion in financial investment.
Fred Fitzalan-Howard, Knight Frank’s Apac head of data centres, mentions that the Apac data centre industry will certainly add regarding 8 gigawatts of new capacity over the following 3 years, with a quarter of this dedicated to AI workloads. While lower than the global standard due to the region’s Tier 2 or Rate 3 standing under United States AI diffusion rules, the pipeline stands for US$ 24 billion in capital expenditure and 20 to 30 million sq ft of property, he includes.
