Hong Kong data centre loan sale shows banks limiting sector exposure
Borrowing to fund AI raises worries over aggressive spending on tech that has not yet delivered consistent returns
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[HONG KONG] An attempt by a lender to offload a portion of a loan backing a Hong Kong data centre project is highlighting a global trend of banks reshuffling lending to keep exposure to the booming sector within limits.
Credit Agricole is looking to sell down about HK$150 million (US$19 million) of a HK$1.6 billion loan that it and other banks extended to ESR Group for the data centre in the Asian financial hub, people familiar with the matter said.
The bank has been gauging interest among other lenders, as it has hit its own lending cap for data centres, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
A representative for Credit Agricole declined to comment. ESR did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Lending to data centres, a critical infrastructure fuelled by the global artificial intelligence rush, has grown at breakneck speed.
Morgan Stanley was considering offloading some of its data centre exposure via a significant risk transfer strategy which shifts some of the risk on a loan portfolio to investors.
Asset manager Voya Financial is limiting holdings tied to large technology companies that have long-term contracts for AI-linked infrastructure.
The AI boom has been a key driver of debt deals in Asia-Pacific, fuelling a wave of big ticket financing including DayOne Data Centers’ talks for a US$7 billion loan, in what would be the largest for the sector by any company in Asia if completed.
The loan was lent to ESR, an Asia-Pacific focused logistics and industrial properties investor, in 2023 to fund the conversion of a cold storage facility in Kwai Chung, an industrial district in Hong Kong’s New Territories, into a data centre.
It is not immediately clear how much of the original HK$1.6 billion was Credit Agricole’s.
Moody’s Ratings expects at least US$3 trillion to flow into data centre-related investments over the next five years, with much of it financed through debt.
Big US companies from Meta Platforms to Alphabet have accelerated borrowing in recent months to fund their AI infrastructure, raising worries over aggressive spending on a technology that has yet to provide consistent returns.
At least US$334.5 billion in bonds and loans have been issued so far this year to fund AI infrastructure projects, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That number is nearly double the US$185.5 billion raised in all of 2025. BLOOMBERG
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