SMPlus Digital Investama (SM+), controlled by Indonesia's Widjaja family and partnered with Korea Investment Real Asset Management (Kira), is set to develop a $300mn data centre in Jakarta's business district, supported by tycoon Kim Nam-goo.

In a statement reported by Daily Barta, the Widjaja-owned Sinar Mas Group announced plans for the new facility, which is scheduled to commence operations by mid-2026. The company revealed that the data centre will have the capacity to significantly scale up its operations, although specific details regarding its location and production capacity were not disclosed.

“This new data centre will provide state-of-the-art facilities and services essential for advancing digital transformation across various sectors in Indonesia, including finance, industry, government, public services, and education,” stated Franky Oesman Widjaja, a board member of Sinar Mas.

The new data centre will be designed and managed by LG Sinarmas Technology Solutions, a joint venture between SM+ and South Korean firm LG CNS, established in March.

SM+ is a business unit of Dian Swastika Sentosa (DSSA), a coal mining company listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange and part of the Sinar Mas Group. Last December, DSSA acquired a data centre from Smartfren Telecom, a subsidiary of the Sinar Mas Group, for IDR544bn ($35mn) as part of its expansion into the data centre sector.

Ranked 4th on the December list of Indonesia's 50 Richest People, the Widjaja family has a net worth of $10.8bn. 

Kira is a unit of Korea Investment Holdings, a South Korean public company with diverse financial interests, including banking, asset management, private equity, and hedge funds. Kim Nam-goo, CEO and largest shareholder of Korea Investment Holdings, is the eldest son of Dongwon Group founder Kim Jae-chul. Kim joined Dongwon Securities, the precursor to Korea Investment Holdings, in 1991. In 2021, Kim was ranked 41st on the list of Korea's 50 Richest People with a net worth of $1.2bn, but he did not make the list the following year due to a drop in his company's stock price.