Singapore’s data centre plans will face obstacles

Significance Once the leading data centre hub in South-east Asia, Singapore has faced mounting challenges due to limited land capacity and the industry’s high environmental costs. In response, the city-state unveiled its ambitious Green Data Centre Roadmap in May 2024, aiming to boost local data centre capacity by 35% while prioritising sustainability. Impacts Singapore will have a short-term edge as a destination for new data centre investments if it can avoid the US tariffs that appear likely. If the Green Data Centre Roadmap succeeds, Singapore may raise electricity limits for new centres, provided they meet green standards. To avoid tariffs, Chinese platforms will increasingly set up subsidiaries in Singapore, keeping investments high.