The Bank of Russia unexpectedly maintained its key interest rate at a record-high 21% , defying analysts’ expectations of another significant hike as inflation remains stubbornly elevated. The decision marks a shift toward a more measured approach in balancing economic growth and price stability. Key Details Inflation Concerns: Annual inflation climbed to 8.9% in November, well above the central bank’s 4% target , with inflation expectations reaching 13.9% in December. Policy Rationale: The central bank cited the significant tightening of monetary conditions after October’s 200-basis point hike as sufficient to resume disinflationary processes. Governor Elvira Nabiullina emphasized avoiding both economic overheating and severe slowdowns. Economic Overheating: Elevated government spending on the war in Ukraine and social programs, coupled with labor shortages and rising wages, have fueled strong domestic demand, exacerbating price pressures...
Macquarie Equity Research has identified Malaysia as a leading market for data centre growth in Asean, emphasizing the country’s strong potential due to an upcoming, improved renewable energy scheme. The new Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS), expected in September, aims to resolve bottlenecks in solar power supply, enhancing Malaysia's attractiveness for data centre investments.
Key Takeaways:
Malaysia's Position in Asean Data Centre Market: Malaysia is poised for significant growth in data centre demand, with a forecast of 5.6 Gigawatts (GW) over the next 10 years, placing it just behind India. This growth is driven by expanding digital infrastructure needs and renewable energy initiatives, despite alternative forecasts by DC Bytes placing Malaysia third behind India and Japan.
Top Picks for Data Centre Investments: Macquarie has named Tenaga Nasional Bhd and YTL Power International Bhd as top picks to benefit from the data centre boom. Tenaga is set to capitalize on rising energy demand, while YTL Power, in partnership with Nvidia, is establishing a regional leadership position in providing graphics processing units (GPUs) as a service.
Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS): The new CRESS will eliminate the previous 30-Megawatt (MW) project quota, potentially boosting renewable energy supply for data centres. However, concerns remain over access charges to use Tenaga's grid, ranging from 25 sen to 45 sen per kilowatt-hour. Despite these concerns, Macquarie does not expect major data centre operators to deviate from their renewable energy targets.
Global Data Centre Demand and Infrastructure Investments: Macquarie has raised its forecasts for accelerator and server shipments, data-centre capacity, and end-power demand, reflecting strong global demand driven by advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor manufacturing. The revised forecast predicts data-centre capacity growth from 49GW in 2023 to 164GW by 2028, a CAGR of 27%. Power consumption is expected to deliver a 23% five-year CAGR, reaching 1,257 TWh by 2028 and potentially doubling again before 2032.
These insights indicate Malaysia's strong positioning in the Asean data centre market and underline the potential for significant growth, driven by renewed infrastructure investments and robust global demand for digital services.
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