A data centre fund launched by Alpha Investment Partners has invested in a newly built facility in Singapore worth SGD170m (€108m).

Alpha Data Centre Fund has taken a 70% stake in the asset through a 70-30 joint venture, known as Thorium, with Keppel Data Centres.

Keppel Data Centres developed the 16,900sqm facility which is spread over five floors. More than 25% of the space has been committed.

Alpha, itself a subsidiary of Singapore’s Keppel Group, raised US$130m (€113m) for the fund in a first close a year ago.

Keppel Data Centres has more than a decade of experience in developing and operating high availability data centres across Asia-Pacific and Europe.

Christina Tan, CEO of Keppel Capital and managing director of Alpha, said the use of data in Singapore is expected to remain robust, underpinned by sustained demand from expanding technology and network content companies.

The demand for data centres is also driven by outsourcing needs to meet the stringent compliance requirements of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the city-state’s central bank.

The latest investment is described as a “strategic addition” to the Alpha DC Fund’s portfolio. The fund completed its debut acquisition of a data centre in Germany last year.

Tan said the concept of investing in data centres continues to gain traction with global institutional investors.

When fully invested, the unlisted fund is expected to acquire up to US$1bn in greenfield and brownfield assets across key data centre hubs in Asia-Pacific and Europe.