TECO will acquire an 80% stake in NCL, becoming its largest shareholder and jointly expanding into Malaysia’s MEP engineering market for data centers and renewable energy.
TECO has acquired MalaysianMEP engineering company NCL to expand into the nation’s MEP engineering market for data centers and renewable energy.
With its low electricity costs, vast land availability and strategic location near Singapore, Malaysia has attracted significant investment in data center construction, making it the country with the highest number of new data centers in Southeast Asia.
The acquisition aligns with TECO’s strategy of focusing on the Southeast Asian market and demonstrates its long-term commitment to the Malaysian market.
TECO’s board of directors approved the acquisition and related investment for a total price not exceeding MYR 70m – the transaction is expected to be completed in Q2 2025.
TECO’s Intelligence Energy Business Group has extensive experience in building data centers for international cloud computing giants in Taiwan and Singapore.
TECO Chairman Morris Li said NCL has been a long-term strategic partner of Malaysia’s electricity company, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).
With NCL’s experienced team and past achievements, TECO will be able to quickly obtain the necessary MEP engineering licenses and workforce for the Malaysian market. Furthermore, this acquisition will allow TECO to seamlessly connect with major Malaysian EPC contractors such as Gamuda and Sunway, enabling it to provide comprehensive MEP engineering services for international cloud computing clients in Malaysia, he said.
NCL has been engaged in MEP and solar engineering in Malaysia for nearly 20 years. Recently, it successfully collaborated with TECO on two hyperscale data center projects, establishing a strong working relationship.
NCL founder Dato’ Ng Keng Hiong said: “This investment signifies TECO’s recognition of NCL’s management team. With greater capital and resources, NCL aims to expand its team and compete for more large-scale data center, solar power plant, and MEP engineering projects.”
Malaysia has attracted strategic investments from global tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Oracle. Over the next five years, the country is expected to receive more than $20 billion in foreign investment for data center construction – solidifying its position as Southeast Asia’s data center hub.
Chairman Li emphasized that entering Malaysia’s data center MEP engineering market is just the first step with TECO planning to expand into solar power plant, battery energy storage system (BESS), EV charging and MEP equipment sales to seize market opportunities.
This aligns with TECO’s strategy of increasing overseas revenue to more than 50% within the next two to three years by targeting Southeast Asia’s high-growth potential markets. Through this initiative, TECO aims to fulfil its vision in realizing electrification, intelligence and green energy.
