Singapore, data center operators are anchored by domestic, regional, and US players with demand underpinned by both western hyperscalers and regional fintech and enterprises, Credit Sights said Tuesday.

The research house said in a note that data center operators in the region are anchored by domestic (Temasek-backed Keppel DC, ST Telemedia GDC), regional (NTT, AirTrunk, PDG), and players (Equinix, Digital Realty, Vantage).

“Demand is underpinned by both western hyperscalers and regional fintech and enterprises,” it noted.

Meanwhile, the city state’s real estate investment trust (REIT) market is a distinctive funding channel alongside green and sustainability-linked syndicated loans, and the government also supports the issuance of SGD green bonds to fund data center projects.

In 2025, Equinix issued S$1.15 billion ($900 million) of SGD green bonds in two separate deals (S$650 million [$508 million] in August and S$500 million [$391 million] in March).

In 2024, STT GDC raised S$500 million ($391 million) of subordinated perpetual bond (NC2030).

Meanwhile, due to Singapore’s increasingly selective and stricter approval process for large-scale data centers amid concerns over energy, water and land use as well as high construction costs, data center investment is spilling over to neighboring Johor, Malaysia.

International operators are often in joint venture with local conglomerates or developers to navigate land acquisition, regulatory approvals, grid connections, and local labor issues, said Credit Sights.

Bank loans and project finance dominate while Islamic finance is another distinctive feature.

It is noted that AirTrunk finances its data centers in Malaysia via a mix of equity, syndicated loans, and a potential REIT listing on the Singapore stock exchange.

In January 2026, Bloomberg reported that AirTrunk is closing an A$1.8 billion ($1.28 billion) debt package for its Johor Bahru 1 data center (JHB1) in Malaysia with 23 underwriting banks, including SMBC, Societe Generale, BNP, Santander, UOB, Standard Chartered, DBS, Credit Agricole, ING, and MUFG.

Meanwhile, CIMB and Citi are helping the company to sell about 80 percent of the equity of JHB1, which is valued at about $3 billion on an enterprise valuation basis.

The debt and equity combined deal is expected to be finalized this year and serve as a blueprint for AirTrunk’s asset recycling path at its SYD1 asset in Western Sydney.

In April 2026, Bloomberg also reported that AirTrunk is preparing for a potential Singapore REIT listing as soon as this year, which could raise up to $1.5 billion, led by Citigroup, DBS and Jefferies.

In May 2026, Bloomberg reported that AirTrunk is seeking another $2.3 bn of syndicated loan to fund the development of JHB2 data center in Johor, Malaysia.

Similarly, DayOne also finances its Malaysia data centers with a mix of local currency and USD syndicated loans and equity, according to the note.

DayOne, formerly known as GDS International was set up by GDS Holdings to manage its data center assets outside China, and later become an independent group in 2025 with international investors including SoftBank Vision Fund.

In June 2025, Bloomberg reported that DayOne secured MYR 15 billion (about $3.6 billion) multicurrency financing to support its green data centers in Johor.

The financing comprised a MYR 7.5 billion ($5.34 billion) onshore Islamic tranche and a $1.7 billion offshore term loan facility.

DBS, UOB, CIMB, Credit Agricole, and Standard Chartered are involved in the deal.

In March 2026, Bloomberg reported that DayOne DC is seeking to double the size of the existing loan to as much as $7 billion.

The “amend and extend” loan initiative would give the borrower access to fresh capital without structuring a new deal.

In May 2026, it was reported that DayOne is considering upsizing its Series C funding round to more than $4 billion amid strong investor interest, alongside a $1 billion revolving credit facility ahead of its planned dual initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore and the United States at a valuation of $20 billion.

Overall, Credit Sights said Asia Pacific (APAC) data centers are mainly funded at project levels by banks at an loan-to-value (LTV) of 60 percent to 70 percent.

Banks typically look for offtaker contracts that are locked in for at least 7-10 years, with strong ability to pass through power costs, favorable termination clauses/extension options, and visible cash flow for greenfield financing; the operators maintenance track record, the offtakers’ credit quality, and the location of data centers.

Meanwhile, bond financing for greenfield data centers at project levels is rare in APAC.

Data center operators occasionally issue USD and Asia local currency bonds to fund capex and acquisitions when project-level leverage is maxed out due to covenant restrictions, but most still prefer private credit and junior bank financing given the flexibility for upsizing and addition of new assets.

It is noted that securitized lending to data centers in APAC is still at an early stage of development, but is actively explored as operators are looking to diversify away from bank funding.

Credit Sights also highlighted that domestic players dominate China’s data center market.

The country’s primary funding channel is state-backed bank lending under the “East Data, West Computing” plan approved by the NDRC in 2022, while major Chinese tech firms largely self-finance their own builds and securitized products are emerging as a growing funding avenue for other operators.

AMRO flags resource strains, limited spillovers from Malaysia data centers