Digital Realty Maps Out Asian Expansion

After amassing more than 15 million square feet of data center space in the United States and Europe, Digital Realty Trust is looking to the Asia-Pacific region for its next phase of growth. Executives of the data center REIT said Thursday that the company is scouting properties in Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong in advance of an expansion in the region.

"We expect to announce our first investment in Asia-Pacific before the end of the year," Digital Realty CEO Mike Foust said in the company's quarterly earnings call with securities analysts. "Data center demand in the region is strong, and many markets remain underserved."

Singapore clearly appears to be a favored site among the Asia-Pacific markets being considered by Digital Realty.

"Singapore is a very strong international commercial market in a variety of vertivals," said Foust. "It's also a fiber-rich region. We have a significant amount of demand from existing customers as well. We're very bullish on Singapore.

"Sydney and Brisbane are good markets and underserved from a demand perspective, with demand coming primarily from Australian companies," said Foust. "Hong Kong has some high barriers to entry, so it's tricky to sort out. We're looking at development opportunities there. In the near term, we're focusing on the Singapore and Sydney markets."