PLDT readies first PH data center REIT, prods government for blueprint

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

PLDT Inc. is preparing what could become the Philippines’ first data center real estate investment trust, but Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan says the harder problem isn’t raising money. It’s a government with no blueprint for the industry it wants to build.

Pangilinan said state data alone could support about 270 megawatts of demand — more than double the country’s current capacity of roughly 120 MW — if Manila required government agencies to store their data in the Philippines.

The proposed listing would still mark a first for Filipino investors, offering direct access to the data centers that house the servers behind the cloud, social media, and artificial intelligence. The vehicle, built on PLDT’s data center arm VITRO Inc., is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026.

PLDT expects to raise $300 million to $400 million from an initial eight facilities with a combined 27 megawatts of capacity, part of a portfolio it values at $1.8 billion. The proceeds would help trim net debt of more than ₱280 billion, after private buyers declined to meet the price PLDT sought for a stake in the business.

The company’s board has approved pursuing the offering under the REIT framework, which lets companies list income-generating assets with stable cash flows on the stock exchange. The rollout will come in phases, with PLDT planning to sell about 49% of the economic interest in the trust.

“This is an important step in our efforts to unlock value from PLDT’s digital infrastructure portfolio, while continuing to support the country’s growing demand for enterprise-grade and AI-ready data center capacity,” said Victor S. Genuino, president of ePLDT, VITRO’s parent.

PLDT turned to a public listing after talks with potential strategic investors fell short. “We were not getting the kind of value we think we ought to get for the data centers,” Pangilinan told reporters on the sidelines of the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting. He valued the eight mature facilities that would anchor the REIT at $600 million to $800 million.

Larger assets could follow. PLDT last year inaugurated VITRO Sta. Rosa in Laguna, its 11th and biggest data center, a five-hectare campus with capacity of up to 50 MW that can be folded into the trust later. Across all sites, VITRO’s capacity is nearing 100 MW.

PLDT reported consolidated net debt of ₱282.3 billion at the end of the first quarter, equal to 2.53 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. The company has tapped UBS AG and BPI Capital as financial advisers.

The plan follows revised REIT rules the Securities and Exchange Commission issued in January. Under Memorandum Circular No. 1, the regulator broadened eligible assets beyond traditional property to include digital infrastructure such as data centers, and allowed REITs to hold assets through unlisted special purpose vehicles, provided they own at least two-thirds of the voting shares.

The move sets PLDT apart from rival Globe Telecom, which brought in Singapore’s ST Telemedia Global Data Centres as a strategic partner for its data center business. PLDT explored a similar stake sale before disappointing valuations pushed it toward the public market.

For Pangilinan, the listing is the smaller battle. He pressed the government to adopt data sovereignty rules requiring local data to stay onshore. “They should require both government and private sector companies to store their data here, like other countries have required,” he said.

“As for foreign companies, that is their data and they can store it wherever they want,” he added. “But at least Philippine companies should store their data here. We should patronize our own companies.”

He also questioned whether the country is ready for the ambitions floated under Pax Silica, a US-led effort to rally friendly nations around chips, AI, data centers, and advanced manufacturing, which officials have linked to a “Luzon Corridor.”

“To recreate Silicon Valley in the Philippines, what do you need?” Pangilinan said. “First, you need infrastructure and facilities. What are those? How big? Secondly, and more importantly, people. IT engineers, tons of them, millions of them. Do we have them? We don’t.”

He said the government need not wait for legislation to set a direction. “I think PLDT should be part of that. We’d like to do it, we just need a blueprint,” he said.

PLDT said no final terms have been set, including the offer size, valuation, timing, ownership structure, or final asset portfolio. The listing remains subject to regulatory approvals and market conditions.