KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed higher, buoyed by Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 2.75 per cent, alongside positive cues from Wall Street. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 19.30 points, or 1.19 per cent, to 1,635.86 from Wednesday’s close of 1,616.56. The benchmark index opened 6.72 points higher at 1,623.28, and fluctuated between an intraday high of 1,642.44 and a low of 1,622.62 during the trading session. However, market breadth was negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 723 to 497, while 466 counters were unchanged, 1,075 untraded and 10 suspended. Turnover rose to 3.74 billion units valued at RM3.61 billion compared with yesterday’s 2.81 billion units valued at RM2.57 billion.
Malaysia Positions Johor as the Next Data Centre Capital
Khazanah Nasional’s infrastructure arm, UEM Group Bhd, is gearing up to unlock its extensive land holdings in Johor to support Malaysia’s accelerating data centre build-out. Managing director Datuk Amran Hafiz Affifudin said UEM will supply clean energy and industrial land as demand surges from hyperscalers and multinational cloud players.
Johor has rapidly become the country’s data centre hotspot, attracting RM164.45 billion in investments as of 2Q and projected to host 60% of Malaysia’s total data centre capacity by 2030. UEM Sunrise — one of Johor’s largest landowners with 4,600 acres — is in the final stages of preparing the 40-acre Gerbang Nusajaya Industrial Park, designed to run on renewable energy.
Major Green Power Investments to Support Future Loads
UEM’s clean energy arm UEM Lestra will soon break ground on a 1GW hybrid solar plant, backed by I Squared Capital and Macquarie units.
Phase 1: 500MW
Capex: RM2.5 billion
The company is also exploring industrial water treatment solutions — an increasingly critical component as modern data centres demand massive water capacity for cooling. Strengthening energy and water ecosystems is central to attracting and retaining global tech clients.
Data Centre Demand Sparks Power-Supply Race
BMI (Fitch Solutions) expects Malaysia to remain one of Asia’s top three fastest-growing data centre markets, with a steep rise in electricity needs through 2028. But the rapid expansion is pressuring existing power and land infrastructure.
Meeting hyperscalers’ requirements for clean, renewable-matched power is becoming more challenging — yet increasingly essential as operators commit to decarbonisation targets.
UEM’s Broader Green Pivot: From Utilities to Industrial Parks
UEM is shifting beyond its traditional road and property portfolio into large-scale clean-energy deployment.
Key initiatives include:
Acquisition of independent utility Nur Power, with RM1.5 billion committed to decarbonise industrial parks by 2026.
Adding solar power to complement Nur’s 350MW gas facility at Kulim Hi-Tech Park — serving firms such as Infineon Technologies and AT&S.
Exploring repowering opportunities up to 1GW, subject to regulatory approval.
Operating biogas assets via its subsidiary Cenergi in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Amran expects profit performance to improve in 2025, with stronger contributions from Sunrise and other units.
Financial Position and Future Plans
FY2024 pretax profit: RM923 million (nearly 3x YoY)
Debt-to-equity: under 40%, providing room for expansion
UEM is considering future listings of subsidiaries beyond existing listed entities UEM Sunrise and UEM Edgenta
Shares of UEM Sunrise rose as much as 2.5% on Thursday, narrowing YTD losses to 44.4%.
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