While the residential market in Thailand is struggling, there is an endless demand for data storage. Some Thai developers are warming up to the idea of investing in or building data centres as an alternative to traditional real estate development options, shows research from JLL.
Data centres in Thailand are generally developed on-site for a company’s usage requirements and managed by in-house staff. There are a few data-centre service providers currently operating in Thailand, but the market has room to grow and developers have the land necessary to build these facilities.
Dexter Norville, Director at JLL pic via jll.co.th
“A common hurdle that many potential developers of data centres seem to face in Thailand, and most other Asean countries, is that many developers may have suitable land to construct a data-centre facility but they do not have the technology component. Alternatively, there are many technology companies that do not own or have access to the land that they would like to develop,” says Dexter Norville, Director at JLL, to the Bangkok Post.
Local developers are now showing an interest in data centres and have begun looking for advice on how to proceed. Enlisting operators or using joint venture agreements are a few ways developers can work around their lack of experience in this field.
“The more viable option for many developers to potentially forge a market share in should, however, be in the provision of external data centres which can provide managed data hosting to multiple companies,” says Norville.
Singapore and Hong Kong are currently the main leading data-centre markets in the Asia Pacific region but both face future land shortages. This is where Thai developers who have ample land banks could come into play since they have the space needed to host data centres.
“This is an exciting real estate opportunity for developers in Thailand with potential driven by continued increased local demand and from other more established regional markets,” says Norville.
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