An Indonesian AI infrastructure venture backed by some of Southeast Asia's largest telecom operators has secured a $3.1 billion debt package to purchase Nvidia graphics processing units, marking one of Asia's largest bank-led financings for AI hardware to date.
Zankore announced on September 9 that it signed a senior term loan facility of up to $3.1 billion to fund Nvidia GPU infrastructure at a new AI factory in Indonesia. The site is planned to launch with 100 megawatts of capacity before scaling to 1 gigawatt, and will serve AI cloud customers across Indonesia and Southeast Asia. The platform was formally launched on August 6, when it said it was targeting 1 GW of Nvidia DSX AI Factory capacity, with approximately 200 MW planned for the first half of 2027.
Citigroup acted as sole debt adviser on the facility, while ING Groep, Natixis, Qatar National Bank, and United Overseas Bank served as senior mandated lead arrangers, underwriters, and bookrunners. Zankore's ownership group is anchored by major regional telecom operators, with key shareholders including Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison Tbk, Indonesia's second-largest mobile carrier, alongside Ooredoo Group and Nokia Corporation.
Bank-led hardware financing has been slow to gain traction across Asia. Lenders have routinely hesitated to finance chips directly because residual values for rapidly aging GPUs are uncertain, and geopolitical friction in US-China technology trade adds another layer of risk. To bridge that gap, Nvidia structured the deal with a revenue-sharing and credit-support framework designed to reassure underwriting banks. The chipmaker first introduced this financial support model in July to help regional partners expand data center footprints while opening infrastructure to smaller AI developers.
"Nvidia is helping us to make it financeable," said Vikram Sinha, chairman of Zankore. He added that Nvidia's service order structure ensures computing capacity reaches both investment-grade corporate clients and smaller enterprises needing compute on demand.
For Nvidia, backing debt packages like this creates a repeatable vehicle to clear high-volume GPU orders outside North American hyperscalers. By absorbing partial credit risk, the company effectively guarantees its own hardware sales while building long-term cloud distribution channels across Southeast Asia. The project enters Indonesia's data center market as the country is expected to need more facilities for AI growth, with multiple commercial data centers already operating there. Nvidia has noted that its products are subject to US export laws, while Indonesian rules govern processing and storage by electronic-system operators.
Shares of Nvidia dropped about 2% on Tuesday to close at $225.75, though the stock remains up more than 21% year-to-date. Wall Street analysts maintain a Strong Buy consensus on the company, based on 29 ratings issued in the past three months. The average price target of $325.23 implies roughly 44% upside from current levels.
Indonesia's Zankore Secures $3.1 Billion Loan for Nvidia AI Data Center Buildout
By: IDCNOVARegion: Southeast Asia