MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has a long way to go before it emerges as one of the data center giants in Asia-Pacific, a global property advisory and research firm said.
In a report, Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) said the Philippines remains one of the most immature in the region for data center development based on population per megawatt (MW).
As of 2024, data centers in the Philippines serve 1.34 million people per MW, the highest in Asia-Pacific next to Vietnam’s 1.77 million per MW.
By 2030, the Philippines is expected to boost capacity to 573,146 per MW but would remain one of the highest capacity densities in the region. With this, C&W said the country would mature longer as a data center hub.
“Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam are still in the early stages of their data center development. These markets currently exhibit very low data center density,” the report said.
“While investor and operator interest is beginning to emerge, these markets may require a longer time horizon, potentially beyond 2030, to mature into fully established data center ecosystems,” it added.
The Philippines is also one of the six economies in Asia-Pacific projected to have a data center capacity of more than 200,000 per MW by 2030.
Hong Kong and Singapore, for their part, are seen carrying the bulk of data center requirements in the region, as their capacities cater to both domestic and international demands.
On the contrary, the Philippines is listed as one of the economies where yield on cost is above 12 percent. This means investors may find it cheaper to build data centers in the country, estimated to cost $6 million to $8 million per MW.
The most expensive economies to build data centers in Asia-Pacific are Japan, Singapore, Australia, South Korea and Hong Kong. On average, these markets may demand a minimum cost of $12.9 million per MW.
The Philippines is positioning to become a data center hub in Asia-Pacific as telcos like PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. are building facilities to expand coverage.
Tech giants like Amazon, Google and Meta are always on the lookout for data centers where they can store the applications and information needed to run their operations.
