Keppel’s private fund, Keppel Data Centre Fund II (KDCF II), has entered into a joint venture with Digital Decarbonization Solutions Platform (DDSP) to develop a 80 megawatt (MW) Tier III-equivalent greenfield data centre campus in North Taiwan. KDCF II is set to hold a 50% interest in the joint venture, while DDSP will hold the remaining interest.
According to an Oct 21 release, the joint venture marks the group’s first data centre project in Taiwan and “represents a strategic move to ride on the tailwinds of Taiwan’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and semiconductor boom”.
The campus is set to be developed in two phases and is expected to be ready for service in 2026.
Currently, the first phase of the campus has secured a long-term contract with a global cloud service provider. Meanwhile, the group says phase two is expected to position Keppel to “capture further upside from opportunities in Taiwan’s growing data centre market”.
In 2023, the Taiwan data centre market recorded high utilisation rates of 94.3%. Moving forward, future demand and supply are expected to reach an estimated compound annual growth rate, from 2023 to 2028, of 10.6% and 10.1% respectively, reads the release.
Christina Tan, CEO of fund management and CIO of Keppel, says: “ With the potential to scale up to 80MW, the Taiwan DC Campus bolsters our strategy to grow our portfolio of AI-ready hyperscale data centre assets across Asia.”
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She adds: “This investment underscores Keppel’s robust relationships with global cloud providers and highlights our distinctive edge as an asset manager and operator to create strong value through site sourcing, leasing, developing, and operating critical data centre assets.”
Frederic Devos, CEO of DDSP, says: “This exciting collaboration highlights our shared commitment to decarbonization, and sustainable growth to benefit our customers.”
He adds: “Through our partnership with Keppel, we’re scaling operations and contributing to the reduction of the digital economies’ carbon footprint. This facility will drive cloud solutions for our customers, and reinforces Taiwan’s leadership in green energy and digital infrastructure.”
The data centre is not expected to have any material impact on the earnings per share and net tangible asset per share of Keppel for the financial year ending Dec 31.
Additionally, KDCF II has since committed more than 90% of its total funds, and Keppel is set to launch the third vintage of its flagship data centre fund series later this year.
The group adds that following Keppel’s “strong track record in Asia Pacific” and the group’s “integrated ecosystem” providing access to energy infrastructure and subsea cables, the upcoming Keppel Data Centre Fund III and co-investments from other investors is expected to translate into a fund under management of $10 billion.
Shares in Keppel closed 2 cents lower, or down 0.31%, at $6.45 on Oct 21.
