With plans to deploy data centres, fibre routes, towers and renewable energy infrastructure across the region, the new investment vehicle will premier its first hard asset in the Philippines.

Arch Capital Management (ARCH Capital) has launched a new digital infrastructure affiliate platform which will target the deployment of data centres, fibres and towers, as well as renewable power assets across Southeast and North Asia.

Digital Halo (DH) is headquartered in Singapore and has been designed to capitalise on the growing demand for digitised information tech and operations solutions in Southeast and North Asia.

In the data centre sector, DH will offer built-to-suit and colocation solutions to meet hyperscale and enterprise customer requirements in the target markets.

The first DH data centre will be launched in Manila. Together with its affiliated investment vehicles, DH will manage and own a proposed 70MW data centre campus on a 3.75-hectare freehold land parcel in Cainta.

The proposed development involves a retrofit of an existing industrial facility with 6MW planned IT capacity in the first phase, with ready-for-service commencing from the end of 2023. Future phases will be new developments.

Richard Yue, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Arch Capital, said: “The digital infrastructure sector in Asia is among the fastest growing markets in the world, with demand outpacing supply. We are delighted to welcome the Digital Halo team, who bring exceptional and unparalleled expertise and experience in telecommunication and data centres to the platform.”

ARCH Capital is an Asia-Pacific-focused private equity real estate investment manager with over US$5.6 billion under management and advisory featuring both opportunistic and core strategies.

This latest initiative extends the Asia-Pacific strategic partnership announced by Arch Capital with Manulife Investment Management in February 2022 beyond real estate to digital infrastructure.

Charles Cosgrove, currently President of Arch Capital whose career spans Singapore Telecom, Ayala Corporation, Globe Telecom, NetCom AS and Stjarn TV, will serve as Executive Chairman for DH.

Ex-Keppel Group finance head Kai Goh, the DH Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operating Officer, will be responsible for leading and building up the team and platform.

The team will be joined by Tan Lee Kheng, who will be appointed Chief Technology Officer with effect from 16 Jan 2023, where she will lead the technical aspects for DH encompassing design, project delivery, safety, operational excellence and sustainability.

Kheng has over 20 years’ experience designing and building data centres for global hyperscale and enterprise customers involving over 2 million sqft and over US$3 billion in total development cost. Prior to joining DH, she led the engineering and project management teams at Keppel Data Centres where she was responsible for the entire development lifecycle from site selection, technical solutioning, financial budgeting, procurement, project development and operational delivery.

Cosgrove said: “After living and working in Singapore for over 30 years, I find myself looking back on my time in Southeast Asia and now see so much opportunity for our region, especially in our chosen areas of digital infrastructure. From our home in Singapore, I see a bright and compelling future for Digital Halo’s highly focused strategy on key regional markets and customers. We are in the right place at the right time.”

Also commenting, Goh, said: “I am excited to build Digital Halo from the ground up with a talented team. With our effort as well as the trust and support of our customers, investors and partners, we look forward to making Digital Halo a Singapore success story.”

Myron Zhu, Head of Private Markets, Asia, at Canada’s Manulife Investment Management which acquired a minority stake in ARCH Capital in 2022, added: “Digital Halo further extends Manulife Investment Management’s private markets buildout in Asia leveraging on the strong strategic partnership with Arch Capital.

“The Digital Halo launch underscores our strong commitment to Asia and provides the foothold for our investments into the digital infrastructure sector in Asia (ex-China), taking our trademark approach in combining local investment expertise with global institutionalised standards and enhancing our offerings to investors. We look forward to working with the Digital Halo team to achieve our shared vision for the platform.”

Article by João Marques Lima.

Founder and Editor, The Tech Capital