Global data centre market to hit US$4 tril by 2030; Apac sees bulk of 2024 investments: Knight Frank
Global transaction prices averaged US$ 75.4 million in 2024, up 15% y-o-y and 44% higher than pre-Covid levels in 2019. Knight Frank’s research also spotted that Asia Pacific (Apac) controlled information centre investments, with some US$ 15.5 billion, or 70%, of cross-border information centre deals occurring in the region.
The international information facility market is readied to see fast progress in the coming five years, following a solid recoil in 2024. According to Knight Frank’s latest Global Information Centres Report, worldwide data centre realty transactions quantity got better from an interest rate-hike pushed slump in 2023 to hit US$ 31.8 billion ($42.9 billion) last year, up 118% y-o-y.
Across the causeway, Singapore stays a key information centre market regardless of regulatory and land constraints. Nonetheless, the report highlights that with uninhabited rates below 1%, transactions in the city-state have actually changed towards smaller deals, in tandem with an upsurge in prices.
Johor is additionally on the right track for additional fast growth. Knight Frank estimates the southerly Malaysian state will certainly see 85% (335 MW) capability development by 2027, backed by US$ 4.7 billion in financial investment.
Fitzalan-Howard sees the preliminary investments as placing the structure for even more AI framework rollouts in the area. “Nevertheless, resolving different regulatory structures and adapting to US export regulates on AI chips continue to be vital factors in maximising Apac’s opportunities in this swiftly developing market,” he continues.
Cape Royale Ho Bee Land & IOI Properties
The resilient outlook reflects mounting need for AI-optimised facilities, cloud solutions and enterprise digital initiatives. Knight Frank projects that international information centre capacity will increase 46%, or 20,828 megawatts (MW), over the following two years. By 2030, it forecasts capability could expand by 177%.
Fred Fitzalan-Howard, Knight Frank’s Apac head of data centres, says that the Apac information centre market will add about 8 gigawatts of new storage capacity over the next three years, with a quarter of this dedicated to AI workloads. While less than the global average due to the area’s Rate 2 or Rate 3 condition under US AI diffusion rules, the pipeline stands for US$ 24 billion in capital expenditure and 20 to 30 million sq ft of real estate, he adds.
The rise in international information centre industry activity is expected to proceed in the coming years. Knight Frank estimates that the marketplace will notch a yearly CAGR of 18% over the next five years, propelling it to strike US$ 4 trillion by 2030.
Apac is anticipated to add 4,174 MW of capacity by 2027, sustained by US$ 58.7 billion in planned financial investments over the same period. Key factors consist of Tokyo, that is projected to see US$ 4.1 billion in financial investments over the following 2 years that will underpin 25% (295 MW) of capability development.
