ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider Philippine data center boom attracts $170-million IFC investment

Philippine data center boom attracts $170-million IFC investment

Published May 11, 2026 06:15 pm  |  Updated May 11, 2026 04:01 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.

Manila Bulletin reported earlier that the World Bank Group’s (WBG) private-sector lending arm disclosed last May 8 that it is considering financing for YCO Global Cloud Centers Holdings Inc. to support the company’s data center development pipeline in the country.

A subsequent May 10 disclosure showed that the planned investment package of up to $170 million comprises a quasi-equity investment of up to $20 million in YCO Global and long-term senior loans of up to $150 million for the company’s data center projects over the next five years.

IFC said board approval for the proposed financing is expected on June 10, 2026.

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 earlier 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 North Luzon this year.

IFC said the total project cost is estimated at $1.054 billion.

The new disclosure also showed that YCO Global is majority owned by the Ynchausti family, which holds an 82-percent stake in the company. IFC described the Ynchaustis as a prominent Philippine business family with established interests in energy and real estate.

Meanwhile, Sy-led conglomerate SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) is a minority stakeholder.

According to IFC, the proposed investment is expected to expand access to data hosting services for businesses, support the growth of digital services, and improve productivity.

It added that the investment could also improve competition in the Philippine data-hosting market and help reduce supply gaps.

IFC said its non-financial additionality would include helping ensure that the company’s data center facilities meet international standards for energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

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
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.