KUALA LUMPUR: MARC Ratings has invited public feedback for its exposure draft to evaluate the credit strength of a prospective data centre developer/operator.
The exposure draft will have guidance on the approach that will be taken in the rating of transactions involving data centres; key factors assessed by the rating agency for greenfield data centres; discussion on the transaction structures for operational data centres and risk profile of a trust structure for a pool of data centres.
There have been several methods established to evaluate the credit strength of a prospective data centre developer/operator, these include project finance, asset-backed securities (ABS) and real estate investment trust (REIT).
MARC Ratings said Malaysia's data centre industry is still growing, with many projects under construction likely to use project financing.
MARC Ratings expects domestic data center growth to focus on hyperscale, with large financing needs.
Transactions with high construction risk will be assessed based on the rating agency's project finance criteria.
For transactions involving the securitisation or pooling of operational data center leases, these could be analysed in accordance with ABS or REIT methodology.
Comments on the exposure draft must reach MARC Ratings by Jan 15, 2025.