Malaysian real estate firm Sime Darby Property is moving into the data center space.

The company this week announced its partnership with Pearl Computing Malaysia Sdn Bhd to develop a hyperscale data center at its business park in the City of Elmina, northwest of Kuala Lumpur.

Pearl Computing is described as a wholly-owned subsidiary of an unnamed multinational technology company. A report in Edge Malaysia says Pearl is a wholly-owned unit of Singapore-based Raiden APAC Pte Ltd, which itself is part of a tech company headquartered in the US.

The data center will be located on a 49-acre site within Sime Darby Property’s 1,500-acre Elmina Business Park, the largest freehold industrial park in Klang Valley. Further specifications weren’t shared.

The project is set to break ground in Q2 2024, for a 2026 completion. Sime Darby will manage the design and development, infrastructure planning, and construction management.

Pearl Computing is set to enter into a 20-year lease valued at up to RM2 billion ($424 million) for the site, with options to renew for two additional five-year terms.

Dato’ Azmir Merican, Sime Darby Property’s group managing director, said: “We are excited to embark on our maiden entry into the data center segment, which is rapidly emerging as an important asset class within real estate for which we are well-positioned to expand into.

"This project allows us to broaden our Investment & Asset Management portfolio, aligning with our SHIFT25 strategy to grow recurring income.”

Though it can trace its roots back to United Estates Projects Berhad, a property development company established in 1964, Sime Darby Property was officially formed in 2007 by parent company Sime Darby and since been publicly listed.

Sime Darby is named after founders William Middleton Sime, Henry d’Esterre Darby, and Herbert Mitford Darby, who founded the company in 1910.