Australia's Goodman Group creates US$2.7 billion group to invest in Hong Kong data centres
The industrial property group said it had joined forces with Dutch investors PGGM and APG, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and CBRE Investment Management's Indirect Private Real Estate Strategies. It said an unnamed Middle Eastern investor was also involved.
Goodman will be a 20 per cent cornerstone investor in the partnership, it said in a statement.
The Sydney-based company's shares rose 1 per cent on Friday to A$35.08, outpacing a flat S&P/ASX200. The stock is trading close to a five-month high.
The group will own four existing Hong Kong data centres held by Goodman in an industrial partnership and two centres currently being developed. Goodman's portfolio accounts for approximately 30 per cent of Hong Kong's data centre market by power capacity, it said.
Goodman has similar data centre partnerships in Japan and Europe. It said the Japanese partnership will have US$1.1 billion in assets by the end of 2025.
Goodman has a A$10 billion (US$6.57 billion) industrial property portfolio in Hong Kong, part of which could be converted to data centres in the future, Chief Executive Greg Goodman said.
"There's opportunities in the industrial portfolio. We have to basically redevelop them into data centres and they would then come into this partnership for development," Goodman told Reuters in a telephone interview.
"There's a lot of inquiry now coming out of China, you've seen a big push in artificial intelligence in China. China is on a big growth path in regard to digital evolution and the whole AI sector. So you can expect a lot of Chinese operators also very interested in Hong Kong."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Focus Malaysia
26 minutes ago
- Focus Malaysia
Massive DC investments shield construction sector from AI export risks
RHB's top picks for the construction sector include Gamuda (GAM), Sunway Construction (SCGB) and Binastra. US President Donald Trump's administration via a draft rule plans to restrict shipments of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to Malaysia and Thailand. This is part of an effort to crack down on suspected activities of chips being smuggled into China. However, the rule is not yet finalised, and could still change. One provision under the draft rule would allow firms headquartered in the US and a few dozen friendly nations to continue shipping AI chips to both countries, without seeking a license, for a few months after the rule is published, according to media sources. The licence requirements would still include certain exemptions to prevent supply chain disruptions. Therefore, US-based tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Oracle, EdgeConneX and Amazon Web Services may continue their planned investments in Malaysia, which entails data centre (DC) setups. We also do not discount the possibility of some form of validated end user (VEU) status (similar to former US president Joe Biden's AI diffusion rule) to be obtained by US tech giants and allies which enables them to ship AI chips more freely to countries like Malaysia, given their massive planned investments in the country. However, VEU status holders may also then be subject to stringent security requirements, eg supply chain security including personnel checking and transit security. These 'friendly nations' may be countries previously listed under Tier 1, under the US AI diffusion rule proposed by the previous US administration. Some of the countries include the UK, the Netherlands, Australia and Japan. Key non-US DC players currently expanding in Malaysia include Yondr, Vantage, AirTrunk and NextDC. GAM, SCGB and IJM mainly have their DC jobs coming from either US-based corporations, or DC players from countries that could be deemed as friendly by the US, in our view. In fact, the near-term DC job pipeline is dominated by US-backed MNCs. For instance, there are some DC tenders, with outcomes expected to be known over July-September. The said tenders are related to Elmina Business Park Phase 2, and Eco Business Park V at Puncak Alam. Based on our estimates, there could be a potential construction value worth MYR7.4bn from the five DC tenders. Other DC hotspots include Negeri Sembilan – one in Port Dickson via a 389- acre piece of land (acquired from GAM) developed by PCM and another plot in Nilai that is said to be backed by a US investor, according to the Chief Minister of Negeri Sembilan. The 389-acre land could likely house between 500MW and 700MW of DC capacity based on our analysis. Key downside risks to our sector call now include an unexpected slowdown in DC builds from US-based DC developers in Malaysia. —July 7, 2025 Main image: Freepik
New Straits Times
42 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Stocks slip in Asia on US tariff confusion, oil skids
SYDNEY: Stock markets slipped in Asia on Monday amid confusion as US officials flagged a delay on tariffs but failed to provide much detail on the change, while oil prices slid as OPEC+ opened the supply spigots more than expected. The United States is close to finalising several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates to take effect on August 1. "President Trump's going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that if you don't move things along, then on August 1 you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN. Trump in April announced a 10 per cent base tariff rate on most countries and higher "reciprocal" rates ranging up to 50 per cent, with an original deadline of this Wednesday. However, Trump also said levies could range in value from "maybe 60 per cent or 70 per cent", and threatened an extra 10 per cent on countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies" of the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India and China. With very few actual trade deals done, analysts had always suspected the date would be pushed out, though it was still not clear if the new deadline applied to all trading partners or just some. "This renewed escalation in trade tensions comes at a time when major trade partners, including the EU, India and Japan, are believed to be at crucial stages of bilateral negotiations," analysts at ANZ said in a note. "If reciprocal tariffs are implemented in their original form or even expanded, we believe it will intensify downside risks to US growth and increase upside risks to inflation." Investors have grown somewhat used to the uncertainty surrounding US trade policy and the initial market reaction was cautious. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both eased 0.3 per cent. EUROSTOXX 50 futures eased 0.1 per cent, while FTSE futures fell 0.2 per cent and DAX futures held steady. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.5 per cent, while South Korean stocks went flat. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.6 per cent, as Chinese blue chips dropped 0.5 per cent. DOLLAR MIXED Safe-haven bonds were better bid, with 10-year Treasury yields down almost 2 basis points at 4.326 per cent. Major currencies were mixed as the dollar index nudged up to 97.071. The euro held at US$1.1771, just off last week's top of US$1.1830, while the dollar was a fraction firmer at 144.76 yen. The dollar has been undermined by investor concerns about Trump's often chaotic tariff policy and what that might do to economic growth and inflation. The same worries have kept the Federal Reserve from cutting rates and minutes of its last meeting should offer more colour on when the majority of members might resume easing. It is a relatively quiet week for Fed speakers with only two district presidents on the docket, while economic data is also sparse. The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to cut its rates by a quarter point to 3.60 per cent at a meeting on Tuesday, the third easing this cycle, and markets imply an eventual destination for rates of 2.85 per cent or 3.10 per cent. New Zealand's central bank meets on Wednesday and is likely to hold rates at 3.25 per cent, having already slashed by 225 basis points over the past year. In commodity markets, gold slipped 0.3 per cent to US$3,324 an ounce , though it did gain almost 2 per cent last week as the dollar fell. Oil prices slid anew after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed on Saturday to raise production by a larger-than-expected 548,000 barrels per day in August. The group also warned that it could hike by a similar amount in September, leaving analysts with the impression it was trying to squeeze lower margin producers and particularly those pulling oil from US shale. "We see OPEC+ targeting Brent oil futures around US$US60-65/bbl as a result," said Vivek Dhar, an analyst at CBA. "This would challenge the economics of US shale oil supply growth and prevent non-OPEC+ supply growth from taking market share in coming years." Brent dropped 52 cents to US$67.78 a barrel, while US crude fell US$1.01 to US$65.99 per barrel.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Asia stocks slip amid US tariff confusion, oil skids
SYDNEY: Stock markets slipped in Asia amid much confusion as U.S. officials flagged a delay on tariffs but failed to provide any detail or paperwork on the change, while oil prices slid as OPEC+ opened the supply spigots more than expected. The United States is close to finalising several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates to take effect on August 1. "President Trump's going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that if you don't move things along, then on August 1 you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN. Trump in April announced a 10% base tariff rate on most countries and higher "reciprocal" rates ranging up to 50%, with an original deadline of this Wednesday. However, Trump also said levies could range in value from "maybe 60% or 70% tariffs to 10% and 20%", further clouding the picture. With very few actual trade deals done, analysts had suspected the date would be pushed out, though it was still not clear if the new deadline applied to all trading partners or just some. "This renewed escalation in trade tensions comes at a time when major trade partners, including the EU, India and Japan, are believed to be at crucial stages of bilateral negotiations," analysts at ANZ said in a note. "If reciprocal tariffs are implemented in their original form or even expanded, we believe it will intensify downside risks to U.S. growth and increase upside risks to inflation." Investors have grown somewhat used to the uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policy and the initial market reaction was cautious. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both eased 0.3%. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.3%, while South Korean stocks fell 0.7%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1%. DOLLAR DOLDRUMS Safe-haven bonds were better bid, with 10-year Treasury yields down almost 2 basis points at 4.326%. Major currencies were little changed as the dollar index continued to languish near four-year lows at 96.913. The euro held at $1.1787, just off last week's top of $1.1830, while the dollar dipped to 144.38 yen. The dollar has been undermined by investor concerns about Trump's often chaotic tariff policy and what that might do to economic growth and inflation. The same worries have kept the Federal Reserve from cutting rates and minutes of its last meeting should offer more colour on when the majority of members might resume easing. It is a relatively quiet week for Fed speakers with only two district presidents on the docket, while economic data is also sparse. The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to cut its rates by a quarter point to 3.60% at a meeting on Tuesday, the third easing this cycle, and markets imply an eventual destination for rates of 2.85% or 3.10%. New Zealand's central bank meets on Wednesday and is likely to hold rates at 3.25%, having already slashed by 225 basis points over the past year. In commodity markets, gold slipped 0.3% to $3,324 an ounce , though it did gain almost 2% last week as the dollar fell. Oil prices slid anew after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed on Saturday to raise production by a larger-than-expected 548,000 barrels per day in August. The group also warned that it could hike by a similar amount in September, leaving analysts with the impression it was trying to squeeze lower margin producers and particularly those pulling oil from U.S. shale. Brent dropped 52 cents to $67.78 a barrel, while U.S. crude fell $1.01 to $65.99 per barrel. - Reuters
