Malaysian billionaire Francis Yeoh develops over $10B power projects across Southeast Asia

YTL Power has not disclosed the investment required, but analysts estimate the projects could cost more than $10.5 billion, according to Forbes.

The projects are planned for Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam over the next few years. Once completed by 2030, they would bring the company's total installed power generation capacity to nearly 11 gigawatts.

The expansion comes as YTL Power and its partner Ganda Power secured four additional gas turbines from Germany's Siemens Energy, bringing the total number reserved to seven.

YTL Power said in a September statement that the turbines would support power generation projects in Malaysia and elsewhere in the region with a combined capacity of more than 5.25 gigawatts.

It said rising electricity demand is being driven by industrial expansion, electrification and the rapid development of data centers and artificial intelligence.

Francis Yeoh, chairman of YTL Corp. Photo courtesy of YTL Foundation

Malaysia is already facing sharply rising power demand from its booming data center industry.

Data centers accounted for a record 9.3% of the country's electricity consumption in the second week of August, up from an average of 7% this year, Reuters reported, citing Malaysia's Energy Commission.

Their share could reach 31% of electricity demand in peninsular Malaysia by 2035.

Malaysia will need an additional 9 gigawatts of gas-fired generation capacity by 2032 as data center demand grows and the country gradually phases out coal-fired power, Economy Minister Akmal Nasir said in September.

The country has become Southeast Asia's fastest growing data center hub, attracting billions of dollars in investment from global technology companies.

YTL is also undertaking a major expansion in the sector, with plans to double its data center capacity to 2.4 gigawatts.

The company is also expanding its AI operations. Its digital businesses include Nvidia-powered computing infrastructure through YTL AI Cloud and ILMU, a Malaysian large language model developed by YTL AI Labs.

YTL Power is part of Malaysian conglomerate YTL Corp., founded by Yeoh's late father, Yeoh Tiong Lay, more than six decades ago.

Yeoh, 72, is executive chairman of YTL Power and YTL Corp. He has led the family business since 1988, expanding it internationally across utilities, cement, property, hotels and digital infrastructure.

Yeoh and his siblings have a combined net worth of $4.1 billion, according to Forbes, making them Malaysia's ninth richest family.