Singapore-based CapitaLand Investment is building two hyper-scale data centres in Greater Beijing. On February 22, the real-estate investment manager announced the projects and said they would be financed by its newly created China data centre development fund. The investments will add S$1bn ($746m) to its portfolio.

On a statement dated the same day, Patrick Boocock, CapitaLand’s CEO of private equity alternative assets, described data centres as “one of the fastest-growing new economy asset classes” and said “the surge in demand for cloud computing, 5G technology and e-commerce” is driving investor interest in the sector.

Both projects are expected to be completed in 2025 and will deliver over 100 megawatts of power. They will bring CapitaLand’s data centre portfolio to 26 sites across Asia and Europe.

Sewon adds to Georgia’s EV ambitions

South Korea’s Sewon Precision Industry is investing more than $300m in an electric vehicle (EV) plant in the US state of Georgia. Announcing the project on February 21, the Georgia Department of Economic Development said it will create 740 jobs and is the largest known private investment in the city of Rincon to date.

The plant, which will be operated by Sewon’s US subsidiary Sewon America, will commence operations in 2025 and will produce EV body parts for original equipment manufacturers including Hyundai. It is the company’s second automotive manufacturing facility in the state, following the opening of its plant in LaGrange in 2008.

Hines launches in New Zealand

Global real-estate developer Hines has opened its first office in New Zealand. In a February 22 statement announcing the launch, CEO of the firm’s Asia Pacific operations, Ray Lawler, said: “We see compelling opportunities in New Zealand, especially in the build-to-rent, value-add office, and logistics [and] industrial sectors, and its marketplace is a natural extension to what our teams are already doing in Australia.” 

The office is located in Auckland, the country’s most populous city, and gives Hines a presence in seven countries across Asia Pacific. In the statement, Mr Lawler highlighted the company’s focus on sustainability and innovation, and said “these principles are critical to unlocking the full potential of New Zealand’s commercial real estate market”

And finally: The CEO of tobacco group Philip Morris International has told the Financial Times he would “rather keep” the company’s Russian business than sell on stringent terms set by the Kremlin. The company’s CEO Jacek Olczak pointed to Russian regulations that let the government dictate the value of foreign firms’ sale of local assets, and said talks with three potential buyers have stalled because “no one knows how I can make” the deal work.