On Jan 13, the US Bureau of Industry and Security implemented previously announced controls on advanced computing chips and specific closed artificial intelligence (AI) model weights, alongside new licensing exceptions and updates to the Data Center Validated End User (VEU) authorisation.
During a results briefing on Jan 24, Loh Hwee Long, CEO of Keppel DC REIT’s (KDC REIT) manager, said that his data centres in Singapore are likely to be largely unaffected by the restrictions placed on certain jurisdictions by the US. Indeed, KDC REIT raised its exposure in Singapore to 65.3% from 53.1% by assets under management (AUM) with the acquisition of KDC SGP7 and KDC SGP 8 in December for $1.38 billion, taking the REIT’s AUM to $4.9 billion.
By December, the US had already announced the implementation of certain restrictions on advanced computing chips for certain tiers of countries.
