Equinix's Asia Pacific Power Play: Digital Dominance Unleashed

Global digital infrastructure company Equinix has continued its rapid expansion in the Asia Pacific, announcing new investments into the markets of Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines.

The investments include plans for a new greenfield site in Hong Kong, while Equinix will purchase land and existing data centers in Malaysia and the Philippines. The company also recently opened its first facility in Indonesia.

The expansion adds to the global platform of Platform Equinix, which spans 260 data centers across 71 metros and 33 countries.

In Asia-Pacific, Equinix operates 56 data centers in 14 key metros across Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, including the recently opened data centers in Johor and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

Hong Kong, a crucial gateway

In Hong Kong, the company announced an initial investment of USD124 million for its purpose-built International Business Exchange data center.

Named HK6, this new facility will be interconnected to Equinix’s five existing data centers, which serve as a hub for data and economic exchange between multinational enterprises and local and mainland Chinese companies in the Greater Bay Area.

Over the past year, the Equinix Internet Exchange traffic in Hong Kong has grown by almost 50%.  

“The Philippines' digital economy is expected to climb toward USD35 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 20%.“

Joanne Hon, managing director of Equinix Hong Kong, said the new facility would be Equinix's largest investment in Hong Kong in the past decade.

“This strategic investment solidifies Hong Kong's position as a crucial gateway for data exchange between China and the global community," Hon said.

HK6 will be enabled to support the liquid cooling technology essential for supporting high-density, enterprise-grade AI workloads.

Like Equinix's other IBX data centers in Hong Kong, HK6 will be 100% covered by renewables. Equinix is on track to achieve climate neutrality by 2030, strongly focusing on incorporating clean, renewable energy sources worldwide.

Growth in the Philippines

In the Philippines, Equinix has announced its entry into the market by acquiring three data centers from Total Information Management (TIM), a leading technology solutions provider.

The acquisition of the three high-performance data centers will allow Equinix to address the digital needs of local and overseas businesses in the Philippines.

Enterprises, cloud and IT service providers, and network service providers worldwide can leverage Platform Equinix to interconnect and exchange data privately and securely within a vibrant ecosystem of business partners and customers.

Existing customers of TIM, including network and financial services companies, will also gain access to Equinix's global ecosystems of more than 10,000 companies, including more than 2,000 networks and 3,000 cloud and IT service providers.

Southeast Asia's digital economy grew to USD218 billion in gross merchandise value in 2023, and the Philippines' digital economy is expected to continue its upward climb toward USD35 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20%.

The country is also seeing a surge in demand for digital infrastructure services, driven by a highly engaged digital population, booming e-commerce adoption and various government initiatives to promote digitization, such as the E-Government Masterplan 2022 and the Digi-Ed 2028 program.

Jeremy Deutsch, president for Asia-Pacific at Equinix, said: "This expanded digital infrastructure will also enable our customers to thrive and embrace digital transformation, harnessing the potential of emerging technologies like private AI. This acquisition perfectly aligns with our vision to extend our leadership in the Asia-Pacific region while driving the acceleration of the digital economy."

Malaysia, a significant hub

Equinix recently opened two new data centers in Malaysia and has followed this with an investment of USD5 million to acquire land from Malaysian company Cyberview in the digital center of Cyberjaya.

Following the launches of its International Business Exchange in Kuala Lumpur (KL1) and Johor (JH1), the additional land will be instrumental in addressing the rising demand for reliable, high-performance data center services in Malaysia and the broader Southeast Asian region.

As Southeast Asia becomes a significant hub for digital transformation, Malaysia is emerging as a key player, aspiring to transform into a digitally-driven, high-income economy.

Factors such as geopolitical stability, a skilled workforce, improved connectivity, and a focus on renewable energy sources are propelling the data center market, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 14% and reach an estimated USD3.97 billion.

Located in Malaysia’s Global Tech Hub of Cyberjaya, the acquired land is less than one kilometer from the existing KL1 facility.

With a total area of 14,300 square meters, the newly acquired land will serve as a strategic complement to KL1, enabling Equinix to enhance its ecosystem in Malaysia further to cater to a wide range of network and cloud service providers and enterprises spanning various industries.

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