Welcome data centre projects regardless of origin, say analysts
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s liberal approach of welcoming companies from around the world to set up data centres in the country will boost its ambition to become a regional data centre hub, analysts and industry players say.
Attracting data centre operators from China as well as the US and the West, despite the simmering US-China tensions, would be a significant boost for the economy, they said.
Malaysian Institute of Economic Research head of research Shankaran Nambiar said welcoming data centre operators regardless of their origin would significantly transform the country’s skill base and foster the development of a new technological ecosystem.
“Even if it is from China, as long as there are opportunities for local talent to be engaged, it would be beneficial to encourage them,” he told FMT Business.
He said with the robust demand by foreign companies to set up data centres in Malaysia, the country could well become a hub for data centres in the region.
“Nevertheless, it is important to ensure that there is participation by Malaysian vendors and workforce,” Nambiar added.
Recent media reports indicate that more Chinese companies are expected to set up data centres in Malaysia over the next five years.
Between 2021 and 2023, data centres produced RM114.7 billion in approved digital investments and created 39,231 job opportunities.
The US-China trade war broke out and escalated in 2018–2019, when former US president Donald Trump began imposing tariffs and other trade barriers on China.
Best of both worlds
Vicks Kanagasingam, CEO and co-founder of technology company Verge IoT, agreed that Malaysia has all the right ingredients to be a regional data centre hub.
He said that partnering with Chinese, US or Western data centre companies would benefit the country as a whole.
“We get the best of both worlds, US-West and China. I encourage it very much as it will increase technology knowledge, per capita income and talent in the country,” he added.
“Data centres require crucial resources such as energy, and Malaysia’s electricity tariffs are among the lowest in the region, particularly in Sarawak.
“Additionally, our extensive fibre infrastructure, supported by providers like Telekom Malaysia, TIME, Maxis, CelcomDigi, and ALLO, makes us an attractive destination.
“Land is also more abundant and affordable here compared to Singapore,” he told FMT Business.
Vicks also noted that advanced data centres, such as NVIDIA’s planned AI cloud and supercomputer facility, offer multiple economic advantages over standard data centres.
Meanwhile, Malaysia-China Business Council executive director Alvin Tee said Malaysia would benefit greatly from both Chinese and Western data centre players.
“The economic spillover effects of major Chinese DCs coming to Malaysia is that it will become a catalyst to attract more entrants from technology companies in China and international players in Malaysia, especially in AI development and services and cloud services,” he said.
He added that more Chinese companies setting up data centres in Malaysia would lead to a competitive data centre landscape in the country.
“Chinese data centre operators are vigorously competing within the local market while providing valuable lessons in superior technology offerings, expedited time-to-market, and more efficient methods for reducing the cost of services.
“Likewise, Malaysian companies could adopt similar strategies, such as the US$4.3 billion (RM1.27 billion) investment deal by the YTL Power-Nvidia partnership to develop AI infrastructure, supercomputers, and cloud computing in Johor,” he said.
In 2022, Google Cloud announced that it would bring its new cloud region to Malaysia.
The following year, Amazon Web Services said it planned to invest US$6 billion (RM28.16 billion) in Malaysia by 2037 to strengthen its cloud services infrastructure in the country.
Recently, Microsoft Corp said it would invest US$2.2 billion (RM9.39 billion) over the next four years in cloud and AI infrastructure in Malaysia.
Bridge Data Centres, a firm backed by Chinese tech firm ByteDance, has announced its expansion to Cyberjaya with the development of its third data centre, MY02.
China-based GDS Holdings meanwhile has invested RM14.33 billion in Johor with the opening of two data centres in Nusajaya Tech Park and Kempas Tech Park.
NOTION] Notice of Interest of Substantial Shareholders - MR TAN PAU SON on 23-May-2024 Stock [NOTION]: NOTION VTEC BHD Announcement Date 23-May-2024 Director's Particular: Name MR TAN PAU SON Details of Changes: Currency - Date of Change Type Number of Shares 20-May-2024 Acquired 28,466,300 Registered Name Nature of Interest Nature Interest Direct and Indirect Interest Shares Ordinary Shares Reason Purchase of Ordinary Shares via open market Total no of securities after change: Direct (units) 23,206,300 Direct (%) 4.50 Indirect (units) 5,260,000 Indirect (%) 1.02 Total (units) 28,466,300 Total (%) 5.52 Date of Notice 23-May-2024
Thanks Calvin for the hdd write up.... Data Center theme....!! I will expect more good articles like in plantation for Hdd sharing via I3 for the good of readers..
At the beginning of the HDD industry, all the drives were made in USA (Ampex, Burroughs, Control Data, IBM, Memorex, Univac, STK), and then also in Europe (Bull, Siemens) and Japan (Fujitsu, Hitachi). But they were high-priced high-margin units for mainframes where the workforce to build them was a small percentage of the global price.
There was a big change when PCs arrived in a more price sensitive market. The first two storage companies to land in Asia were probably Tandon and Micro Peripherals in 1981 to manufacture floppy disk drives in Singapore.
But the real pioneer was Tom Mitchell, who decided in 1982, or only three years after the birth of Seagate, to transfer all production of 5.25-inch HDDs from Santa Cruz, CA, to Singapore. He was highly unsatisfied by the "high cost, marginal quality and poor availability of labor" in California. He also had the good fortune to fall upon a remarkable local engineer, S.C. Tien, to help him in his efforts.
Seagate's success inspired many imitators in Singapore and then in other Asian countries with lower salaries.
Today all HDDs are manufactured in only six Asian countries by the remaining producers: Hitachi GST (acquired by WD) in China, Thailand and Singapore Seagate in China, South Korea (acquired Samsung HDD for a small quantity) and Thailand Toshiba in China, Thailand and the Philippines The manufacture of HDDs cannot be completely robotized and need huge number of workers for assembling components and testing. WD has around 62,000 employees and Seagate 53,000 worldwide, the huge majority in their manufacturing facilities. And you have to pay them. That's why the HDD makers are hiring people with salaries as low as possible and the gap continues to be enormous between USA and these Asian countries.
For the IMF World Economic Outlook Database, October 2010, the average minimum ANNUAL salary for workers was $1,500 in China, $2,053 in the Philippines, $2,293 in Thailand and $4,375 in Malaysia. Per comparison, it's $729 per median WEEKLY earnings in USA according to the United States Bureau of Labor (January 27, 2012) among full-time wage and salary workers not union members. Result: between 9X and 25X more in the U.S.
That's why it's impossible to build plants in North America to be competitive in the HDD industry.
But there is another reason. With few exceptions, all the components into HDDs (disks, heads, motors, PCBs, enclosures, etc) are built in Asia because their makers have installed their factories near HDD assembly plants to offer a better service to their huge customers.
These two reasons explain why we are not going to see any HDDs made in USA in the near future. It's the same for PCs, notebooks, tablets, smart phones and the majority of high-tech devices.
24 minutes ago
calvintaneng
The manufacture of HDDs cannot be completely robotized and need huge number of workers for assembling components and testing. WD has around 62,000 employees and Seagate 53,000 worldwide, the huge majority in their manufacturing facilities. And you have to pay them. That's why the HDD makers are hiring people with salaries as low as possible and the gap continues to be enormous between USA and these Asian countries.
23 minutes ago
calvintaneng
The manufacture of HDDs cannot be completely robotized and need huge number of workers for assembling components and testing.
BUSINESS REVIEW JCY International Berhad and its subsidiaries (“the Group”) is principally involved in the manufacturing of precision components and sub-assembly. For more than two decades, the Group and its predecessors have been a leading component supplier and contract manufacturer for the Hard Disk Drive (“HDD”) industry.
1 minute ago
calvintaneng
For more than two decades, the Group and its predecessors have been a leading component supplier and contract manufacturer for the Hard Disk Drive (“HDD”) industry.
IT TAKES 20 YEARS TO SET UP HDD & SSD FACTORIES
VERY HIGH BARRIER TO ENTRIES (GLOVES TAKE ONLY 6 MONTHS)
FOR NEXT 3 to 5 YEARS JCY, NOTION & DUFU WILL DOMINATE THE HDD & SSD Markets
This book is the result of the author's many years of experience and observation throughout his 26 years in the stockbroking industry. It was written for general public to learn to invest based on facts and not on fantasies or hearsay....
calvintaneng
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Posted by calvintaneng > 2024-05-23 06:36 | Report Abuse
Blog: JCY (5161) FANTASTIC TURNAROUND RESULTS CONFIRMED WHAT DUFU & NOTION REPORTED! HDD BULL RUN COMMENCING IN EARNEST, Calvin Tan
https://klse.i3investor.com/web/blog/detail/www.eaglevisioninvest.com/2024-05-23-story-h-161463089-JCY_5161_FANTASTIC_TURNAROUND_RESULTS_CONFIRMED_WHAT_DUFU_NOTION_REPORT