SINGAPORE, Jan 17, 2026, 15:28 (SGT) — Market closed.
- Keppel shares ended Friday at S$10.90, marking a 1.02% increase.
- Keppel announced it has secured leasing rights for a 123-hectare site near Morwell, Victoria, capable of supporting up to 720MW of power capacity.
- The spotlight shifts to customer discussions, pending approvals, and Keppel’s results due February 5.
Keppel Ltd (SGX:BN4) closed Friday at S$10.90, marking a 1.02% gain in the final session before the weekend. The share price fluctuated between S$10.79 and S$10.90, with roughly 2.9 million shares traded. 1
This shift is crucial as the data centre expansion now hinges more on power availability than on real estate. AI workloads are driving up demand, and projects that secure electricity ahead often gain speed once clients show interest.
Keppel revealed this week that its Asia-Pacific data centre “powerbank” pipeline — the land and power capacity it has set aside — has surged past 1.0 gigawatt from just over 300 megawatts. The company secured leasing rights on a 123-hectare site near Morwell, Victoria, offering up to 720MW of gross power capacity. Keppel will pay an annual access fee while it navigates approvals and sets up utilities. 2
Manjot Singh Mann, head of connectivity, noted that “Digitalisation and AI are reshaping global compute needs,” and mentioned ongoing “active discussions” with hyperscalers, major cloud providers, and emerging AI cloud players. Lee Hui Fang, deputy CIO for data centres, revealed the firm’s latest fund vintage has assets under management exceeding S$2.7 billion. Keppel also said this development is not expected to significantly impact per-share earnings or net asset value this year. 3
A data centre industry publication pointed out that Keppel hasn’t shared specifics on the number or specs of the planned buildings, highlighting just how early this project is. It also mentioned that Keppel already owns a data centre in Sydney, through Keppel DC REIT. 4
The news came through on the exchange after Thursday’s market close, according to an SGX filing, meaning Friday was the first full day for most investors to react. 5
Still, “powerbanking” isn’t a guaranteed customer contract. Planning approvals might drag, grid connections could tighten up, and demand may shift quickly if AI spending slows or energy prices climb.
Traders are keeping an eye on any progress in customer discussions and hope for a clearer timeline on when Keppel’s private funds will begin signing long-term leases after the site is cleared and serviced.
Keppel’s next major event is earnings day: the company will release its second-half and full-year 2025 results before markets open on Feb. 5. Keppel DC REIT reports earlier, on Jan. 30, followed by Keppel REIT on Feb. 4. 6
