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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider IFC plans $20-million backing for Philippine data center expansion

IFC plans $20-million backing for Philippine data center expansion

Published May 11, 2026 12:00 am  |  Updated May 10, 2026 08:22 pm

International Finance Corp. (IFC) is preparing a fresh investment in the Philippines’ growing digital infrastructure sector, backing a local company planning to expand data center capacity outside Metro Manila.

The World Bank Group’s (WBG) private-sector lending arm disclosed last May 8 that it is considering a $20-million loan investment in YCO Global Cloud Centers Holdings Inc. to support the construction and operation of three data centers in the country.

IFC said the proposed financing for the so-called YCO Catalyst project remains pending approval and did not indicate a timetable.

According to IFC, YCO Global plans to develop two data centers in Malvar town, Batangas province, with a combined capacity of 50 megawatts (MW), as well as another facility in Bataan province.

IFC said the Malvar 1 and 2 facilities—both located within an industrial park in Batangas—have already been constructed, while the Bataan site is still in the planning stage.

“Both sites are within existing industrial estates with no sensitive areas or communities within close proximity,” IFC said.

IFC added that supporting infrastructure for the upcoming Bataan data center—including a transmission line, water supply plant, and wastewater treatment facility—will be built by the industrial park and the government for the site’s exclusive use.

The disclosure showed that IFC conducted environmental and social (E&S) reviews in February 2025 and March 2026, including site visits to the Malvar facilities last year and a build-to-suit (BTS) data center site for a single tenant in Bataan north of Luzon this year.

YCO Cloud’s website quoted its president and co-founder Nik de Ynchausti as saying that the company’s “mission-critical infrastructure is designed to position the Philippines to be Southeast Asia’s digital hub within the next two decades, re-establishing it as the region’s gateway to the West” through “sustainable, greenfield, carrier-neutral, and flexible data center facilities.”

”YCO Cloud is dedicated to building a better future for Filipinos. We aim to attract capital and intellectual investments to the Philippines, serving as a crucial link between foreign companies and local government to spur economic growth,” the company said.

YCO Cloud said it is committed to creating jobs across digital infrastructure and related sectors, supporting technology start-ups, expanding affordable internet access, and equipping Filipinos with artificial intelligence (AI) and digital engineering skills.

The company’s website showed that Abigail Valte, a former presidential spokesperson during the Benigno Aquino III administration, is its chief legal officer, while former senator Franklin Drilon is one of the senior advisors.

The planned IFC investment comes amid rising demand for data center capacity in the Philippines as cloud computing, AI, digital services, and enterprise outsourcing activities continue to expand.

Global investors and infrastructure firms have increasingly been eyeing the Philippines as a potential regional hub for digital infrastructure due to growing internet usage, a large information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry, and rising enterprise demand for cloud services.

Related Tags

International Finance Corp. (IFC) YCO Cloud data centers
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