TECO Acquires Malaysia's NCL Energy to Enter Southeast Asia's Data Centre MEP Engineering Market

19 March 2025

KUALA LUMPUR: TECO Electric & Machinery Co. held an acquisition signing ceremony today, 19th March, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with local MEP engineering firm NCL Energy Sdn Bhd (NCL). Through this acquisition, TECO will acquire an 80% stake in NCL, becoming its largest shareholder as it seeks to expand into Malaysia's MEP engineering market for data centres and renewable energy.

TECO Chairman Morris Li noted that Malaysia has introduced a series of power infrastructure and renewable energy policies that have made it an attractive destination for investment. With low electricity costs, abundant land, and a strategic location near Singapore, Malaysia has become the country with the highest number of new data centres in Southeast Asia. This acquisition aligns with TECO's strategy of focusing on the Southeast Asian market and demonstrates a long-term commitment to Malaysia.

On 14th March, TECO's board of directors approved the acquisition and investment in NCL Energy Sdn Bhd and its renewable energy subsidiary, NCL Green Energy Sdn Bhd, for a total consideration not exceeding MYR 70 million. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2025. TECO’s Intelligence Energy Business Group has considerable experience in building data centres for leading cloud computing giants in Taiwan and Singapore.

Li highlighted that NCL has been a long-term strategic partner of Malaysia’s electricity company, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). With NCL's experienced team and past successes, TECO will efficiently acquire the necessary MEP engineering licenses and workforce for the Malaysian market. Moreover, this acquisition will facilitate TECO's connections with major Malaysian EPC contractors such as Gamuda and Sunway, allowing it to provide comprehensive MEP engineering services for international cloud computing clients in Malaysia.

NCL founder Dato' Ng Keng Hiong expressed his honour in joining the TECO Group. Having engaged in MEP and solar engineering in Malaysia for nearly 20 years, NCL has recently collaborated successfully with TECO on two hyperscale data centre projects, thereby establishing a robust working relationship. This investment underscores TECO's recognition of NCL's management team. With increased capital and resources, NCL aims to expand its workforce and compete for more large-scale data centre, solar power plant, and MEP engineering projects.

Malaysia has attracted strategic investments from global technology giants such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Oracle. Over the next five years, the country is expected to garner more than $20 billion in foreign investment for data centre construction, solidifying its position as Southeast Asia’s data centre hub.

Li emphasised that entering Malaysia's data centre MEP engineering market is just the first step for TECO. The company plans to expand into solar power plants, battery energy storage systems (BESS), EV charging solutions, and MEP equipment sales to capitalise on 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 high-growth markets in Southeast Asia.

Through this initiative, TECO aims to realise its vision of electrification, intelligence, and green energy.