Updated: This article was originally published on 27 Jan 2022 and was updated on 7 Jul 2025
Data centres are an asset class that is highly essential as they are required to store data and provide connectivity. All companies with a digital footprint would require data centres to store and manage their data.
Data centres are highly sought after as investments due to their high occupancy rates and companies have been adding new supply across the world to meet an ever increasing demand.
In Singapore, Data centre REITs are a relatively new subclass in the REITs space with:
- 2 pure play data centre REITs:
- Digital Core REIT (SGX:DCRU),
- Keppel Data Centre REIT (SGX:AJBU)
- 2 other REITs that have expanded into data centre assets:
- Mapletree Industrial Trust (SGX:ME8U),
- Ascendas REIT (SGX:A17U)
Valuation of 4 Data Centre REITs in Singapore
| Digital Core REIT | Keppel Data Centre REIT | Mapletree Industrial Trust | Ascendas REIT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Code | DCRU | AJBU | ME8U | A17U |
| Sponsor | Digital Realty | Keppel T&T | Mapletree Investments | Capitaland Investment |
| Why Invest? | Exposure to Data Centres in US, Frankfurt and Osaka | Most diversified DC Portfolio across 10 countries. Strong APAC Presence | Largest Data Centre AUM (S$5.06B) | Exposure to Data Centres and a diverse range of property assets and geography. |
| Properties | 11 | 24 | 141 | 226 |
| Total Portfolio Value | US$1,624m | S$4,900m | S$9,100m | S$16,900m |
| Data Centre Portfolio | 100% | 100% | 55.6% | 8% |
| Occupancy | 98.0% | 96.5% | 89.9% | 91.5% |
| WALE | 4.7 yrs | 7.1 yrs | 4.4 yrs | 3.8 yrs |
| Gearing | 38.0% | 30.2% | 40.1% | 38.9% |
| Market Cap | US$688m | S$5,190m | S$5,820m | S$12,620m |
| P/B | 0.66x | 1.54x | 1.12x | 1.22x |
| Yield | 5.9% | 4.1% | 5.0% | 5.6% |
1) Digital Core REIT
Digital Core REIT (DC Reit) was the newest listed REIT in Singapore. At listing (Dec 2021), it was the only data centre REIT with 100% of its AUM situated in the US. Over the years, it added on properties in Frankfurt and Osaka to improve its overall geographic diversification.
DC Reit has the smallest AUM base and provides the highest yield at the point of writing.
2) Keppel Data Centre REIT
Keppel Data Centre REIT (KDCR) was the first pure data centre play to list in Singapore and was highly sought after, with share prices reaching a high of S$3.04, implying a price to book value of more than 2.0x at its peak.
At the same time, it is the only data centre REIT play with meaningful geographical diversification, with data centres spread over Europe, Australia, Asia and China. Unlike the other three, KDCR does not have data centres in the US.
It has a relatively low gearing of 30.2% which provides for plenty of headroom to seize opportunities to grow its AUM.
In Nov 2024, Keppel DC REIT announced the acquisition of two high-quality data centers in Singapore—Keppel DC Singapore 7 and 8—for up to S$1.38 billion, marking a strong comeback in REIT acquisitions. The purchase is seen as a strategic win, increasing KDCR’s Singapore property exposure to 65.5%, boosting DPU by 8.1–11.1%, and potentially enhancing rental income over time. Funded through a mix of private placement, preferential offering, and debt, the fundraising effort saw strong demand, with the private placement oversubscribed. The deal is not only yield-accretive but also improves KDCR’s leverage profile, reinforcing its position as a premium REIT capable of raising funds without diluting shareholder value.
Keppel DC REIT re-joined the Straits Times Index on 23 June 2025, joining Ascendas REIT and Mapletree Industrial Trust as the 8th REIT in the index.
3) Mapletree Industrial Trust
Mapletree Industrial Trust (“MIT”) has the largest data centre AUM among the 4 REITs with S$5.06 billion.
Most of its data centres are located in the eastern side of America whereas DC Reit has a larger proportion on the western side of US where more tech companies reside.
Despite its strong sponsor, Mapletree Industrial Trust has faced strong headwinds in recent years, with JP Morgan analysts downgrading them from ‘Overweight’ to ‘Underweight’ in February 2025, citing concerns over tenant vacancies in its U.S. data center portfolio. Expected rising vacancies in its U.S. and Singapore data centers could result in a 5–6% revenue dip and a 4% fall in DPU over the next two years. MIT is mitigating the impact through reletting, repositioning and rebalancing. While challenges remain in the U.S. data center market, MIT’s industrial properties in Singapore provide some stability. Management is also attempting to diversify geographically, such as with a Tokyo acquisition.
4) Ascendas REIT
Ascendas REIT (AREIT) was the one of the first few REITs to be listed in Singapore in November 2002.
It has grown and evolved significantly since then from a business park and light industrial play into a multi segment REIT with assets such as business space and life sciences, logistics, and industrial and data centres.
AREIT has the smallest data centre portfolio of about S$1.35 billion with 3 data centres in Singapore and 12 data centres in Europe (UK, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands).
While AREIT has its merits, one of which is its diversification by asset class and geographical region, with its small exposure to data centres, it would be hard pressed for investors to consider AREIT as a data centre play at this point in time.
Overall Performance of Data Centre REITs in Singapore
REITs have faced sustained pressure since 2022 due to the high interest rate environment and elevated financing costs. Here’s a look at the 3-year performance of the four REITs (as of 7 July 2025):
- Digital Core REIT (DCRU): -30.92%
- Keppel DC REIT(AJBU): 15.23%
- MIT (ME8U): -23.11%
- AReit (A17U): -6.53%
Keppel DC REIT was the only one to deliver positive returns, reflecting its resilience, high-quality portfolio, and strong investor confidence.
Total data centre AUM in Singapore
The four REITs have a combined market capitalisation of approximately S$24 billion as at 7 July 2025 and an approximate portfolio value of S$32.5 billion.
However, as only two of the REITs are pure data centre REITs, the total AUM of this asset class for these four REITs adds up only to about S$13 billion.
The 4 REITs have added ~S$1.7 billion to the total data centre asset under management by Singapore REITs since our last update in Jan 2022.
Data Centre moratorium in Singapore
The number of data centres in Singapore is limited due to a moratorium in place since 2019 to moderate the growth of data centres due to concerns by the Singapore government over issues such as environmental sustainability caused by excessive energy consumption a data centres accounted for 7% of total electricity consumption in Singapore in 2020.
Companies such as Keppel Corporation have taken on the Singapore government’s concerns and have been exploring the possibility of developing a floating data centre park which would be cooled directly by the sea, thus not only reducing electricity consumption but also free up land for other use.
In January 2022, Singapore lifted the moratorium after completing an industry review, welcoming new data centre investments, albeit with new and stricter rules such as a maximum electricity load.
Since then, the government has taken steps to support sustainable expansion. In July 2023, four operators—Equinix, GDS, Microsoft, and a consortium led by AirTrunk and ByteDance—were allocated 80MW of capacity for new facilities. In May 2024, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) announced plans to release at least 300MW of additional capacity, with a further 200MW or more available for operators who adopt green energy solutions. This initiative forms part of Singapore’s Green Data Centre Roadmap, which aims to foster the development of sustainable and energy-efficient data centres in the city-state.
Data Centre REITs: Resilient Amid Headwinds
Data centre REITs have historically delivered strong returns to investors. Despite facing significant headwinds in recent years, all four REITs discussed have successfully expanded their Assets Under Management (AUM) over the past three years. This continued growth underscores their resilience and positions them well to navigate ongoing challenges.
Each REIT has its own unique points, allowing investors to gain diversified exposure to the high-growth data centre sector based on their individual investment preferences.
Additionally, NTT DC REIT is set to list on the SGX on 14 July 2025, offering another opportunity for investors. You can find more details about the IPO here.
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