Exsim cancels Aperia data centre contract, trying to secure unnamed Japanese firm

• This came after Singapore initiated an investigation on whether servers from US firms Dell and Supermicro containing the chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications ended up in unknown final destinations after being first shipped to Singapore-based companies and then exported to Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR (March 5): Exsim has mutually terminated its contract with Aperia Cloud Services for the Exsim Hyperscale Data Centre @ Bukit Jalil, opting instead to secure a "Japanese Fortune 500 company" as an anchor tenant while continuing to attract significant interest from other potential occupants.

This came after Singapore initiated an investigation on whether servers from US firms Dell and Supermicro containing the chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications ended up in unknown final destinations after being first shipped to Singapore-based companies and then exported to Malaysia.

Singapore-based technology company Aperia Cloud Services was supposed to be the first tenant for the Phase 1 of Exsim’s data centre development.

In a statement on Wednesday, Exsim clarified that the termination occurred before Aperia had installed any servers or incurred additional capital costs for the facility.

"This decision was made to uphold the integrity of our project and ensure that all tenants align with our long-term vision for the Exsim Hyperscale Data Centre," it said. 

"Despite this development, Exsim maintains a strong demand pipeline, and we are confident in securing full occupancy given the facility’s specifications and strategic location," the company added.

Exsim has yet to disclose the "Japanese Fortune 500 company", but mentioned that the data centre development continues to receive strong interest from other potential occupants, including a large East Asian enterprise customer and a major local corporate.

"Given the strategic location and high specifications of our facility, we do not foresee any challenges in securing full occupancy. Our target customers include artificial intelligence firms, global cloud service providers, local large enterprises, and multinational corporations," it added.

Exsim noted that the first phase of the data centre is structurally complete, with the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) targeted for the second quarter of 2025.

It added that Phase 2 is progressing as planned, with piling work already underway and full completion expected in 2026.

The Exsim Hyperscale Data Centre is said to be fully funded internally, with mechanical and electrical (M&E) fit-out costs to be incurred only after tenant specifications are finalised.

The facility is designed to meet the highest industry standards, with Tier 4 certification from Uptime, GreenRE certification, and ISO/IEC27001 compliance.

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