Hong Kong’s data center ambitions face slow start amid funding challenges

Hong Kong wanted to build itself into a data center powerhouse. So far, the powerhouse has one tenant and a very large financing question mark. The city’s Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster, the centerpiece of its Northern Metropolis development strategy, launched its initial tender process between October and December 2025. The result: a single bid. Range Intelligent Computing Technology Group, a mainland Chinese company, was the only firm that raised its hand, committing an investment of approximately HK$24 billion. Local developers, the companies Hong Kong might have expected to lead the charge, stayed on the sidelines entirely. One bidder, billions in question Range moved quickly after winning. The company secured a 50-year land grant in March 2026 for an estimated HK$23.8 billion project designed to deliver up to 250,000 square meters of gross floor area. The facility aims to provide 180,000 PFLOPS of computing power by 2032. But building a data center of that magnitude requires capital that Range doesn’t appear to have sitting in a bank account. The company is now pursuing roughly HK$20 billion, or about $2.6 billion, in short-term bank financing. That figure would make it one...