KIC discusses data center investment strategy with New York financiers as market seen topping $1tr

The Korea Investment Corporation hosted the 32nd New York Finance Forum at the South Korean Consulate General in New York on Thursday (local time), the sovereign wealth fund said Friday.

About 40 people attended the forum, including the deputy consul general and investment officials from government bodies, public investment institutions, securities firms, banks and insurers. Participants discussed the global data center market outlook and investment strategies.

Matt Ahern, head of digital infrastructure at global asset manager Blue Owl Capital, who delivered the keynote presentation, forecast that the global digital infrastructure market would grow to more than $1 trillion driven by the spread of AI.

"Given the scale of investment and the growth drivers behind data centers, a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity is opening up in digital infrastructure," Ahern said. "The first wave of rapid cloud market growth is now being joined by a second wave — AI — and the global digital infrastructure market is set to grow to well over $1 trillion."

He identified power procurement as the critical variable in data center investment. "Securing power is becoming increasingly difficult in many countries, making it the single biggest constraint on expanding data center supply," he said. "The key question for any data center investment is when and how reliably you can secure the power you need." He also cited long-term lease agreements with major technology companies that dominate the AI market, along with their investments in servers and networking equipment, as factors underpinning stable cash flows for data centers.

Kim Yul-young, head of KIC's New York office, said the forum offered a valuable opportunity to better understand the data center market, which has drawn growing attention alongside the spread of AI. "I hope this serves as a chance for domestic institutional investors to gain insights that help them diversify their portfolios," he said.

KIC is also expanding its role beyond managing overseas assets into investment in South Korea's strategic industries. KIC President Park Il-young said at the "KBxAIMA Alpha Seoul" conference in Seoul on Sept. 10 that the corporation would use a newly established strategic investment account to help attract global capital into the country. "Through the strategic investment account, we will extend the trust KIC has built in global financial markets to Korea's strategic industries and channel global capital toward Korea," Park said.