AirTrunk seeks $2.3b loan for Malaysia AI hub

AirTrunk, a Sydney-based data center operator owned by Blackstone, is marketing a US$2.3 billion three-year loan to fund its 200-megawatt JHB2 facility in Johor, Malaysia.

About a dozen lenders including DBS, Credit Agricole, ING, and UOB are arranging the syndicated loan.

It has two one-year extension options and pricing of 225 basis points over SOFR for offshore financing and 235 basis points for onshore.

The deal adds to a wave of AI-driven data center financings in Southeast Asia, after Digital Edge and B.Grimm Power announced a US$880 million Thailand facility.

Bridge Data Centres and DayOne Data Centers have discussed loans of up to US$6 billion and US$7 billion.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

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Implications, context, and why it matters.

Malaysia backs AI as AirTrunk grows in Johor

AirTrunk’s US$2.3 billion loan for JHB2 sits within a broader Malaysia push. Across four Johor campuses, committed investment totals about 27 billion ringgit (US$6.8 billion) 1.
JHB1 to JHB4 are set to provide more than 700 megawatts of information technology equipment capacity. The sites are built for dense cloud computing and AI workloads 1.
For about the past two years, the federal government has rejected applications for new data centers not tied to AI. The policy aims to manage resources and favor more valuable projects 2.
AirTrunk says JHB1 and JHB2 are almost fully contracted and running ahead of plan 1.

Johor’s data center surge meets power and water limits

Spending from AirTrunk and other developers is tightening infrastructure, which is likely to delay future projects and raise costs 3.
In Johor, the bottleneck is now grid delivery rather than power generation. Connection timing decides which projects stay on schedule 3.
Johor state says it no longer approves Tier 1 and Tier 2 data center projects, meaning lower-tier facilities with less advanced resilience features, because they can use up to 50 million litres of water a day 2.
Nearby residents have reported dust and noise from construction sites. The strain is adding tension as the buildout moves faster 2.