Keppel Capital Holdings has secured US$1.1 billion in total commitments for its Keppel Data Centre Fund II (KDC Fund II), including investment from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), to achieve its final close.

AIIB has invested US$100 million into KDC Fund II through a parallel fund structure and US$50 million through co-investments, according to Keppel Capital, the asset management arm of Singapore-based conglomerate Keppel Corporation.

The fund, which is managed by Alpha Investment Partners, a private fund manager under Keppel Capital, will focus on making strategic investments in the fast-growing data centre sector in Asia-Pacific and Europe. Launched in December 2020, KDC Fund II has attracted a diverse group of investors from Asia and Europe. Besides AIIB, the fund also obtained commitments from sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, insurance funds, and pension funds.

Alpha chief executive officer Alvin Mah says the fund will tap on the Keppel’s know-how in data centre operations, sustainable technology and energy efficiency to develop better and greener data centres, “an increasing imperative for data centre operators”. 

“This will allow us to set our portfolio above the others to offer a wider range of services to our clients and more compelling returns to our investors,” Mah adds.

For his part, Dongik Lee, AIIB director general, banking department (region 1), notes: “The digitalization mega trend is reshaping global markets and business operations. This trend has been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, further highlighting the importance of data centres which are essential components of the digital ecosystem and attractive investment targets.

“Our partnership with KDC Fund II and Alpha will foster the development and enhancement of hard digital infrastructure to bridge the digital divide by mainly investing in co-location data centres that mostly serve Emerging Asia.”

The latest developments are not expected to affect the earnings per share and net tangible asset per share of Keppel Corporation for the current financial year.