KUALA LUMPUR (July 30): MBSB Research believes the next phase of digital-infrastructure growth will be determined less by land availability alone and more by the sustainable availability of power, water and connectivity.
"At the base of the AI stack, utilities represent both the principal enablers and the binding constraints on further expansion," it said in a note on Thursday.
The house said Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA) remains the most direct beneficiary of rising electricity demand, grid reinforcement, transmission investment and new data centre connections.
Meanwhile, as the country transitions to more sustainable and resilient energy systems, companies like YTL Power International Bhd (KL:YTL) continue to stand out as it shifts its focus towards developing green energy projects such as its Green Data Centre Park in Kulai, and upcoming 100MW solar farm in Kelantan.
With the launch of the National AI Action Plan 2026-2030 (AI Nation 2030) by the Ministry of Digital, key beneficiaries include companies within the construction, utilities, and renewable energy sectors, according to MBSB.
AI Nation 2030 aims to transform Malaysia into “a value-driven AI nation that uses AI to advance inclusive growth, sustainability and the well-being of the rakyat”.
To achieve this, the plan outlines two main components — Impact Engines and Foundational Enablers — which focuses on identifying where AI should be deployed to solve sector-specific problems in areas such as healthcare, smart cities, public services, manufacturing, financial services, telecommunications, power utilities, oil and gas services, agriculture, plantations and MSMEs.
“Rather than treating AI infrastructure, skills and regulation as separate policy agendas, it links them directly to sector demand,” the research house said.
Within the construction sector, players like Sunway Construction Group Bhd (KL:SUNCON) and IJM Corporation Bhd (KL:IJM) are to remain the clearest near-term beneficiaries as data centre contracts aid in order-book replenishment and progress billings.
However, MBSB remained cautious about the property and REIT sector, as they “sit mainly within the infrastructure-enablement layer and should therefore be assessed more selectively”.
The research firm urged investors to focus on groups with strategically located industrial land, power access and data-centre partnerships as they can monetise the theme through land sales, joint developments, recurring leases or appreciation in surrounding industrial assets.
Companies with huge land banks in Malaysia such as Sime Darby Property Bhd (KL:SIMEPROP), IOI Properties Group Bhd (KL:IOIPG), S P Setia Bhd (KL:SPSETIA) and Eco World Development Group (KL:ECOWLD) are beneficiaries of the rising land value.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) which could see potential upside include Axis Real Estate Investment Trust (KL:AXREIT), AME Real Estate Investment Trust (KL:AMEREIT) and Atrium Real Estate Investment Trust REIT (KL:ATRIUM) due to their industrial focus and expertise in managing specialised real estate assets.
Overall, the house maintained an optimistic outlook and viewed the plan as the policy bridge between Malaysia’s current data-centre investment cycle and the next phase of domestic AI value creation.