Asia Pacific Data Centre Trends H1 2020

End-user demand for Asia Pacific data centres remained robust in H1 2020, supported by the adoption of Big Data, Industry 4.0, Internet of Things, 5G and cloud computing. Henry Chin, Ph.D. Head of Research, APAC/EMEA   The surge in data storage and processing requirements resulting from increased levels of remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic has also generated significant requirements for additional data centre capacity. Investment demand has strengthened this year as economic and property market volatility caused by the spread of COVID-19 prompts buyers to seek assets providing stable income streams. Data centre development in India is expected to pick up pace in the medium term, supported by a new government policy in the pipeline that is expected to enable the private sector to build data centre parks across the region. This will create more investment opportunities for investors.   Mumbai Mumbai is India’s largest data centre colocation market, with a total IT capacity of 215 MW. Outsourcing demand continues to grow, driven by cloud players and technology firms looking to cater to the high number of large financial institutions and other major corporates with headquarters in the city. New supply in Mumbai has ramped up in recent years, supported by strong investment demand. Upcoming supply is also significant, with many established global operators looking to expand and enter the market.   Chennai Chennai is attractive to international cloud data centre players owing to its coastal location, which provides substantial cost arbitrage through the use of direct submarine lines. Government subsidies for data centre development are also an appealing incentive. Demand is increasing owing to the strong presence of domestic tech firms and overseas automotive and financial firms, which are looking at Chennai as a primary data storage location as well as a secondary or disaster recovery site.   Pricing Given Mumbai and Chennai’s relatively nascent stage of development, pricing ranges considerably. As both markets continues to grow and mature, CBRE expects retail pricing to move towards that of more mature Asian markets, such as Singapore