APAC data center asset values could hit $1 trillion by 2030, Cushman & Wakefield says

Data center asset values across the Asia Pacific region are projected to approach $1 trillion by 2030, driven by surging demand for AI infrastructure, cloud expansion, and digital transformation, according to a new report from commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.

The firm's 2026 Asia Pacific Data Center Investment Landscape report estimates that more than $280 billion in capital expenditure will be required to support this growth trajectory. Over 77 percent of that investment is expected to be concentrated in five key markets: Japan, Malaysia, Australia, India, and Indonesia, with Japan alone accounting for nearly a quarter of the region's projected capital requirements.

The report highlights a significant supply-demand imbalance as a core driver of opportunity. APAC is home to more than 60 percent of the world's population but currently holds just 22 percent of global operational data center capacity. Cushman & Wakefield projects that regional capacity could expand by more than 2.7 times by 2030, outpacing its forecast for the Americas, which is expected to grow by 2.6 times from a larger existing base.

Financing activity is also accelerating to meet the buildout. The report notes that more than $43 billion in publicly announced debt financing has been raised across APAC over the past two years, reflecting growing investor confidence in the sector's long-term fundamentals. Annual colocation revenue in the region is expected to exceed $66 billion by 2030, with Japan, Australia, Malaysia, India, and China contributing roughly 71 percent of that total.

“APAC remains one of the most compelling digital infrastructure investment opportunities globally,” said Pritesh Swamy, head of research and consulting for the Data Center Group at Cushman & Wakefield, APAC. “The sector's growth is no longer driven solely by digital adoption. Investors are increasingly responding to the scale of infrastructure required to support AI, cloud computing and rapidly growing data consumption across the region. The imbalance between demand and available infrastructure continues to create significant opportunities for capital deployment.”

Gordon Marsden, head of global capital for APAC and EMEA at Cushman & Wakefield, added: “What we're seeing is growing conviction among institutional investors that data centers are no longer a niche alternative asset class but a critical component of modern infrastructure portfolios. Strong financing activity, increasing demand visibility and long-term revenue growth are supporting continued capital deployment across the region.”

Industry analysts view the findings as a signal that APAC's data center market is entering a sustained phase of institutional-scale investment, with the region's infrastructure deficit turning into a primary draw for global capital seeking long-term, demand-backed returns.