Executive Summary

Hong Kong has become one of the most important data centre markets in the Asia-pacific region. Its status as a SAR (Special Administrative Zone) of The People’s Republic of China gives it characteristics that make it essentially a city-state. Today, Hong Kong is a world-class economy that features a robust network infrastructure, diverse connectivity, highly skilled labour and a business-friendly environment backed by a government that does not want to rock the boat.

Given both its history and future, Hong Kong is a major financial, transportation and commercial hub in the region. And this has translated well to the data centre market. Multinational organizations have a strong presence in the region and cloud and infrastructure service providers have picked Hong Kong for regional presence in growing numbers.

The Hong Kong market’s fate is closely tied to its strategic location. It is both a logical gateway to the larger Asia-pacific region and a springboard to mainland China. This now works both ways. As mainland China’s economy continues to grow and liberalize, Chinese organizations are now using Hong Kong as a gateway to the world outside its borders.

It is also increasingly difficult to separate the Hong Kong market’s fate from Singapore. Service providers and enterprises from around the world often debate the merits of each city when picking an Asia-pacific location. And Singapore has arguably closed the gap on Hong Kong when it comes to being viewed as a jumping off point for China.

The Hong Kong colocation market is smaller than Singapore’s. It was worth $616m in 2015 and is projected to grow in the double-digit percent range in 2016 with upticks in annual growth rates through 2020. This is a mature market, but one that has not tightened as quickly as others and still has plenty of runway left. The presence of the large Chinese market and the emergence of massive-scale cloud in China – namely Aliyun – are potential drivers of significant upside potential.

This report takes a close look at the size, growth trajectory and supply and demand dynamics of the Hong Kong colocation market. We track supply and demand from both a space and power perspective and size the market on both an aggregated and sub-regional basis. We also provide a five-year CAGR projection. This report is an excellent resource for any service provider, investor or enterprise end user looking to understand and project the data centre market in Hong Kong or find a service provider.