AIMS Group, the country’s most interconnected carrier-neutral data centre Group CEO, Chiew Kok Hin, today shares his aspirations for Budget 2018:

AIMS Group CEO, Chiew Kok Hin
However high operations costs, continues to hinder the growth and lessen the attractiveness of Malaysian data centres. Energy makes up approximately 40 percent of operation costs for a data centre. The current tariff is much higher than in Singapore. This has made us less attractive as the choice for Asia and has led to us losing out on significant collaborations with international brands.
We hope the government will reclassify the data centre industry as a manufacturer to bring down the tariff of power for the industry which will lower the cost of our operations. These savings will be passed on to our customers, making Malaysia more attractive and economically viable option for global investment.
In order for Malaysia to become a World-class Data Centre Hub as per the aspirations under Pemandu’s EPP 3, it is necessary that this reclassification is awarded to the data centre industry. Otherwise we risk losing our attractiveness in the global market looking to store their data in Asia.
Totaling over 70,000 square feet of data centre space, AIMS is based in central Kuala Lumpur with sites in Cyberjaya, Penang, Johor and Sabah. AIMS is a subsidiary of Malaysia Internet service provider Time dotCom.
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is expected to unveil the 2018 Budget in Parliament on Oct 27 2017.