Provided by Eduardo Baptista, Ashley Tang and Jun Yuan Yong
Beijing/Kuala Lumpur/Singapore (Reuters) -Malaysia, data centers’ internet access point, replacing the development pace of industry and analysts expects China’s efforts to get access to powerful chips, which are important to improve its artificial intelligence.
Southeast Asian countries have used data center investments from US technology giants such as Microsoft, Amazon, Alfabet Google, and their Chinese Tencent, Huawei and Alibaba colleagues in recent years, led by cheap land and electricity costs.
According to the Data Center Consultancy DC Byte, more than two -thirds of the data center capacity in Southeast Asia’s main growth markets were made in Malaysia. Subscribing from Singapore, a more expensive Singapore, led the companies to commit to more data centers in the neighboring state of Malaysia Johor.
However, the boom in the data center began to slow down as Malaysia resorts to the power grid capacity and water resources restrictions and Washington’s pressure to prevent the use of the region as a rear door to reach US -made AI chips that are export control measures.
Malaysia, China’s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia, announced in July that it requires permits for all export, transition and transit transit from US -made high -performance chips such as NVIDIA.
The changes in US chips made in China are still a subamner alternative to maintain the most advanced Chinese AI models and programs that can compete with their competitors, and can compete with their competitors.
New restrictions in Chinese data centers leave the site of regulation to import US chips for use in the country.
However, experts say Malaysia is trying to end a trade agreement with the US.
The US Commercial Department has been concerned that data centers outside China could have acquired AI chips to teach AI models in China, including supporting military use, said Colmann Griffin, a Miller & Chevalier lawyer who previously served as a US government sanction policy adviser.
The US Commercial Department did not respond to the request to comment.
“A belt and the road”
Chinese foreign push began shortly after 2021. She has published an action plan for a three -year Chinese Data Center operator, urging companies to expand abroad, especially in countries signed at the XI Jinping Flagmanic Foreign Development Belt and Road Initiatives, which have signed initiatives in Malaysia.
At the end of Visit XI in Malaysia in April, the parties issued a joint statement that promised a growing cooperation on “data connections”, 5G infrastructure and AI, indicating a growing political impulse based on the development of Chinese Data Center capabilities in Malaysia.
GDS Holdings, one of the largest Operators of China’s data center, started operating the Hypercale Data Center in Johore, a massive project, which is still expanding.
However, since the US continues to distinguish between China’s AI capabilities, GDS has gradually reduced its share package in Singapore’s main subsidiary, which managed its overseas data centers and interrupted it in an independent entity called Dayone in January.
Lee Ting Han, Deputy Chairman of the Development Coordination of Johor State Data Center, said the Chinese firms’ Rewriting would probably be dedicated to their customer base “because they are very aware of what is going on, the trade voltage is moving.”
Jamie Khoo, CEO of Singapore in Singapore in July, said the company had always intended to distinguish its business from their Chinese parents, as both companies operate according to different regime modes.
Singapore had a three -year new data center for the development of a new data center until 2022. January For the energy and water restrictions, before last year announcing that he would attack only 300 megawatts (MW) data center in the near future.
From 2024 December Johor had 12 operational data centers with a total estimated capacity of 369.9 MW, while another 28 was planned for future development, which consists of the expected power of 898.7 MW, the Knight Frank report states.
Johor emerged as a leading Malaysian Data Center Investment Center, with 42 projects worth 164.45 billion rings ($ 39.08 billion), approved since 2025. The second quarter of the second quarter, with 78.6% of the country’s activities, said the state minister of the state last month.
Its proximity to Singapore means that Johor benefits from lower latent relations with other city and public data centers.
However, Johor began to enter the brakes, presenting the check -in committee for data centers last year, which since 2024. By the end of the 19th century, about 30% of applications were rejected for failing to show sustainable water and energy consumption practice, Lee said.
He added that the approval percentage increased because the applicants became more acquainted with the process.
Vivian Wong, a senior analyst at DC Byte, said Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia, were an attractive Chinese data centers for geographical proximity, relatively lower political friction and growing digital infrastructure.
“However, when Southeast Asia is facing increased inspection and rates, it can be less success compared to previous years, especially in markets, which are known to be Chinese-backed operations, which are also subject to Trump’s administration,” she said.
(1 USD = 4,2080 Ringgit)
(Eduardo Baptista Messages in Beijing, Ashley Tang and Danial Azhar Kuala Lumpur, Jun Yuan Yong Singapore; Edited by Miyoung Kim and Jamie Freed)