ADB Commits MYR300 Million to Malaysia’s First Data Center Sukuk.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will invest up to MYR300 million (approximately $75.8 million) in an Islamic bond (sukuk) issued by Sime Darby Property NEV (Holdings) Sdn Bhd—a member of Sime Darby Property Berhad Group—to support the development of digital infrastructure in Malaysia, reinforcing the country’s ambition to become a regional leader in the digital economy.

The investment is part of a sukuk wakalah program, an Islamic financing structure in which an agent deploys funds from multiple issuances into Shariah-compliant assets or businesses. It marks Malaysia’s first sukuk for digital infrastructure and ADB’s first Islamic finance investment. Proceeds will fund the development of data centers in Sime Darby Property’s flagship industrial township, Elmina Business Park, located about 30 kilometers northwest of Kuala Lumpur.

Sustainable Digital Transformation

As the data centers are designed to be energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable, the sukuk qualifies as a green instrument in line with international sustainable bond standards.

“By combining scalable, energy-efficient data centers with green Islamic financing, this project supports Malaysia’s digital transformation and helps ensure the benefits of cloud services and digital platforms reach more people and businesses,” said ADB Director General for Southeast Asia Nianshan Zhang. “This partnership with Sime Darby Property marks a new milestone in strengthening digital infrastructure and deepening our private sector engagement in Malaysia.”

Under its MyDigital initiative—Malaysia’s national roadmap for embedding digital services into the economy—the country is focused on attracting investment, adopting new technologies, and ensuring growth benefits businesses and communities alike.

Institutional Framework and Capital Market Alignment

Through ADB’s GSS+ Initiative, the bank supported the development of Sime Darby Property NEV (Holdings) Sdn Bhd’s green finance framework, enabling the sukuk to be issued as green and further advancing Sime Darby Property’s objective to deliver scalable digital infrastructure.

Sime Darby Property Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Seri Azmir Merican noted:

“As the general partner and manager of the NEV Fund, we are creating an institutional investment platform that enables us to develop high-quality build-to-suit assets required by global technology operators programmatically. We are the first developer in Malaysia to bridge sukuk financing with an institutional real estate private equity structure, supported by a gold-graded green finance framework.”

Maybank Islamic Berhad and OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad have also committed to invest in the sukuk, while the Credit Guarantee & Investment Facility—an ADB trust fund—is providing a partial guarantee. ADB acted as the joint sustainability structuring advisor alongside its role as an investor.

This landmark transaction supports ADB’s broader efforts to mobilize $20 billion by 2035 to finance digital corridors, data infrastructure, and AI-ready economies across Asia and the Pacific, while aligning with its $6 billion regional program to deepen capital markets and expand Islamic finance.