Mah Sing cashes in on RM618mil data centre land deal

Mah Sing Group Bhd is expanding its presence in AI and digital infrastructure after selling a 31.89 hectare plot of commercial land at Mah Sing DC Hub @ Southville City for RM617.9 million. The land, valued at RM180 per square foot, was purchased by WG Malaysia X Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of an established international digital infrastructure group.

The transaction enables Mah Sing to convert the development-ready land into a valuable asset while redirecting capital towards more lucrative digital infrastructure opportunities. This move marks a significant shift for the company, as it seeks to establish digital infrastructure as a second growth engine alongside its property business.

Mah Sing's founder and group managing director, Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum, emphasized the group's capability to identify promising growth sectors and extract value from its land holdings. Digital infrastructure is viewed as a natural progression of their development expertise, with plans to elevate this sector into a substantial second growth engine for the company in the long run.

The company's strategy revolves around three key areas: monetizing development-ready land, constructing essential infrastructure, and strategically owning income-generating digital infrastructure assets in collaboration with experienced partners. Leong highlighted the transformative potential of AI in reshaping the global digital infrastructure sector, with Malaysia poised to seize a significant share of this burgeoning market.

The ultimate objective is to position Mah Sing as a company capable of contributing not only to property development but also to the infrastructure that will underpin the next generation of AI and digital services. WG Malaysia X Sdn Bhd, the buyer, is set to collaborate with associates to introduce NeoCloud and advanced Nvidia GPU computing capabilities to the site, catering to high-performance AI workloads.

Additionally, Mah Sing is exploring the establishment of a colocation data center at Southville City in partnership with an established operator. Deputy group chief executive officer, Lionel Leong Jihn Haur, expressed optimism about the prospects of next-generation AI computing infrastructure, which could propel Mah Sing up the digital infrastructure value chain.

More importantly, the company aims to foster local talent growth, including technology transfer and the development of engineering, technical, and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) talent. Beyond Southville City, Mah Sing is investigating potential digital infrastructure opportunities at Meridin East in Johor Bahru and the MS Industrial Park @ Kulai within the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone.

The RM2.26 billion industrial park is strategically targeting sectors such as electrical and electronic (E&E), semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO), food and beverages (F&B), and AI-related industries. This development could pave the way for a broader ecosystem centered around digital infrastructure and high-tech manufacturing.