Malaysia data centres battle higher power costs, unclear pricing

The operators of energy-hungry data centres in Malaysia are scrambling to reassess costs after steeper-than-expected power tariffs kicked in on Tuesday, industry players said, clouding prospects for the Southeast Asian hub of digital investments.

Competitive rates for electricity, which forms the bulk of operating costs, make Malaysia a magnet for data centres compared to land-scarce neighbour Singapore, luring billions of dollars in investment from companies like Microsoft and Google.