Global Switch Invests HK$2.8 Billion To Build Hong Kong's Largest Carrier Neutral Data Centre

Global Switch, the leading owner and operator of wholesale carrier neutral data centre space in Europe and Asia-Pacific, has acquired a site on the Tseung Kwan O (TKO) Industrial Estate in Hong Kong to build a Tier III¹ plus data centre which marks the company's entry to the Hong Kong market. Global Switch intends to invest around HK$2.8 billion over the full course of the development, with further investment arising from specific customer requirements. This investment to build Hong Kong's largest data centre is in response to strong customer demand, and is consistent with Global Switch's strategy of expanding in key regional IT and connectivity hubs.

Hong Kong will be Global Switch's eleventh data centre and it will be designed and built to the same world class standards of engineering and operational excellence as other Global Switch data centres in London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid, Sydney and Singapore. Once built the data centre will offer 35,000 sq m (375,000 sq ft) gross space with 45MVA of utility power and have best-in-class environmental credentials targeting a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum Rating. Construction is planned to start in 2013, with the first phase of space becoming operational in Q1 2015.

Global Switch was awarded the plot on the TKO Industrial Estate, following a detailed submission process in which Global Switch demonstrated to Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks the significant benefits that a Global Switch wholesale carrier neutral data centre will bring to the Hong Kong economy, reinforcing its position as the leading IT hub in the region.  Global Switch will provide a comprehensive range of network and wholesale managed services to its customers including enterprises, system integrators, banks and financial institutions, telecommunication companies and government organizations, supplying the essential infrastructure needed to facilitate the establishment of multiple key managed service and cloud computing platforms.

The hosting services market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow by 10% to 15% CAGR over the next three to five years², on the back of strong economic growth, business expansion in the region, demand for disaster recovery facilities and corporates moving toward adopting cloud services. Hong Kong, as one of the key data centre hubs in Asia, is expected to see strong demand in particular from the banking, financial services and insurance and trading and logistics sectors.  Asia currently accounts for approximately one third of Global Switch's total revenue.

John Corcoran, Global Switch's Executive Chairman commented: "We are delighted to contribute to the Hong Kong government's vision of making the city a data centre hub in Asia Pacific, as stated in its Digital 21 Strategy. This world-class facility in Hong Kong will serve as a vital resource for local, regional and global customers looking to expand their businesses, as well as drive significant energy efficiency and cost savings.  We have ambitious expansion plans to further strengthen our leadership in the Asia Pacific region, with further new data centres planned in the near future."

Anthony Tan, CEO of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation commented:   "We are very excited to welcome Global Switch to the Tseung Kwan O (TKO) Industrial Estate and look forward to a long and successful partnership.  Data centres have become an essential element of the modern life today and indeed a key support for a lot of industries.  The new data centre of Global Switch will no doubt provide a high quality infrastructure option for Hong Kong to drive our digital economy."

Note:
1. A Tier III data centre is one constructed with fully redundant primary and back-up power and cooling infrastructure.
2. Gartner report 19 June 2012