GDS Holdings Ltd (GDS) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by for GDS Holdings Limited third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Today's conference call is being recorded.

女士們、先生們，大家好。感謝您出席萬國資料控股有限公司 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）今天的電話會議正在錄音。

I will now turn the call over to your host, Ms. Laura Chen, Head of Investor Relations for the company. Please go ahead, Laura.

現在我將電話轉給主持人，公司投資人關係主管 Laura Chen 女士。請繼續，勞拉。

Thank you. Hello, everyone. Welcome to the third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call of GDS Holdings Limited. The company's results were issued via newswire services earlier today and are posted online. A summary presentation, which we will refer to during this conference call can be viewed and downloaded from our IR website at investors gdsservices.com.

謝謝。大家好。歡迎參加萬國資料控股有限公司 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。該公司的業績今天稍早透過新聞專線服務發布並發佈在網路上。我們將在本次電話會議期間參考的摘要簡報可以從我們的投資者關係網站（投資者 gdsservices.com）查看和下載。

Leading today's call is Mr William Huang GDS Founder, Chairman, and CEO, who will provide an overview of our business strategy and performance. Mr Dan Newman, GDS CFO, will then review the financial and operating results.

今天的電話會議由萬國數據創始人、董事長兼執行長黃威廉先生主持，他將概述我們的業務策略和業績。GDS 財務長 Dan Newman 先生隨後將審查財務和營運績效。

Before we continue, please note that today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involved inherent risks and uncertainties. As such, the company's results may be materially different from the views expressed today. Further information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties is included in the company's prospectus as filed with the US SEC. The company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable law.

在我們繼續之前，請注意，今天的討論將包含根據 1995 年美國私人證券訴訟改革法案的安全港條款做出的前瞻性陳述。前瞻性陳述涉及固有風險和不確定性。因此，該公司的業績可能與今天表達的觀點有重大差異。有關這些以及其他風險和不確定性的更多資訊包含在該公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的招股說明書中。除適用法律要求外，本公司不承擔更新任何前瞻性聲明的義務。

Please also note that GDS earnings press release and this conference call includes discussions of unaudited GAAP financial information as well as unaudited non-GAAP financial measures. GDS press release contains a reconciliation of the unaudited non-GAAP measures to the unaudited most directly comparable GAAP measures.

另請注意，GDS 收益新聞稿和本次電話會議包括對未經審計的 GAAP 財務資訊以及未經審計的非 GAAP 財務指標的討論。GDS 新聞稿包含未經審計的非 GAAP 衡量標準與未經審計的最直接可比較的 GAAP 衡量標準的調整表。

I'll now turn the call over to GDS founder Chairman and CEO, William. Please go ahead, William.

現在我將把電話轉給 GDS 創辦人兼執行長 William。請繼續，威廉。

Okay, thank you. Hello, everyone. This is William. Thank you for joining us on today's call. In 3Q '24, we achieved a revenue growth of 18% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 15% year on year. This growth rate is quite remarkable in current market condition. It reflects the progress we have made in turning around our China business, plus the uplift from the successful execution of our international strategy.

好的，謝謝。大家好。這是威廉.感謝您參加今天的電話會議。2024 年第三季度，我們的營收年增 18%，調整後 EBITDA 年成長 15%。這個成長速度在目前的市場狀況下是相當可觀的。它反映了我們在扭轉中國業務方面所取得的進展，以及成功執行國際策略所帶來的提升。

Starting with China (added by company after the call), from the beginning of this year, the move-in rate has clearly stepped up. In 3Q 2024, growth additional area utilized was over 25,000 square meters. It is the highest level we have ever achieved. It is all organic and all in Tier 1 markets. The main reason for this improvement is AI demand. About half of the move-in is coming from the recent new orders and half from orders which have been in the backlog for longer time. For the full year of 2024, we expect net additional area utilized of around 60,000 square meters, which is similar to our peak year of 2020.

從中國開始（電話後由公司補充），從今年初開始，進駐率明顯加快。2024 年第三季度，新增使用面積超過 25,000 平方公尺。這是我們曾經達到的最高水準。這一切都是有機的，而且都在一級市場。這種改善的主要原因是人工智慧的需求。大約一半的進場來自最近的新訂單，一半來自積壓較長時間的訂單。2024 年全年，我們預計淨新增使用面積約為 60,000 平方米，與 2020 年的高峰年相似。

Looking forward, we have better visibility on the deployment plans of our customers, which gives us a higher level of confidence. Therefore, we expect this level of move-in to be sustained. The first wave of AI demand is for machine learning. For this use case, customers can deploy in remote area where land and power are available. The second wave of AI demand is for inferencing. For this use case, customers must deploy in the Tier 1 markets. This has been confirmed with our customers in multiple communications.

展望未來，我們對客戶的部署計畫有了更好的了解，這讓我們更有信心。因此，我們預計這種搬入水平將持續下去。第一波人工智慧需求是機器學習。對於此用例，客戶可以在有土地和電力的偏遠地區進行部署。第二波人工智慧需求是推理。對於此用例，客戶必須在一級市場進行部署。這一點已在與客戶的多次溝通中得到證實。

So far, the volume of AI new orders in Tier 1 markets is quite small. Customers are typically looking for move-in ready capacity. This fits with our current sales strategy which is target order which match our inventory. In the coming year, we expect AI deployment in Tier 1 markets to increase in scale. This will help bring the market back into balance. Some of the new demand will be for hyperscale campuses. We are uniquely well positioned for this.

目前，一級市場的人工智慧新訂單量還很小。客戶通常會尋找可立即入住的產能。這符合我們目前的銷售策略，即目標訂單與我們的庫存相符。來年，我們預期一級市場的人工智慧部署規模將會擴大。這將有助於市場恢復平衡。一些新的需求將來自超大規模園區。我們在這方面擁有得天獨厚的優勢。

We have large blocks of land and power at diverse sites around Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, Guangzhou. This kind of resource is scarce. In order to capture the AI wave in Tier 1 markets, we will carefully consider sales opportunities which require us to initiate new developments. This is a more expansionary business plan with a higher investment and a higher growth. It goes hand in hand with the execution of our China REIT strategy.

我們在北京、上海、深圳、廣州的不同地點擁有大量土地和電力。這種資源是稀缺的。為了抓住一級市場的人工智慧浪潮，我們將仔細考慮需要我們啟動新開發的銷售機會。這是一個更具擴張性的商業計劃，具有更高的投資和更高的成長。它與我們中國房地產投資信託基金策略的執行密切相關。

We made a decision to establish our international business as a standalone entity. We believe that this approach will maximize value for our shareholders. The vision for GDSH is to become a leading international data center platform.

我們決定將我們的國際業務建立為一個獨立的實體。我們相信這種方法將為我們的股東帶來最大的價值。GDSH的願景是成為國際領先的資料中心平台。

We pioneered the creation of new markets to fulfill AI demand. As of 3Q 2024, we have 431 megawatts of total customer commitment. The sales pipeline is very strong. During the third quarter, we signed a contract with a new customer which is a leading global tech company for capacity at our campus in Batam. 34 megawatts is committed, and 38 megawatts is reserved.

我們率先創造新市場來滿足人工智慧需求。截至 2024 年第三季度，我們的客戶承諾總容量為 431 兆瓦。銷售管道非常強大。第三季度，我們與一家新客戶簽署了一份合同，該客戶是一家全球領先的科技公司，為我們巴淡島園區的產能提供服務。已承諾34兆瓦，預留38兆瓦。

This is the first data center of its kind in Asia, designed for the most advanced AI technology. The ramp up is very fast. It's an incredible achievement by our management and the perfect illustration of how we are able to create new markets.

這是亞洲第一個此類資料中心，專為最先進的人工智慧技術而設計。上升速度非常快。這是我們管理階層所取得的令人難以置信的成就，也是我們如何創造新市場的完美例證。

During the current quarter, we officially entered into another new market, Thailand. We are the first data center operator to undertake the first hyperscale project in Thailand. We received strong support from the Thailand government. We think this is the next big opportunity in Southeast Asia.

本季度，我們正式進入另一個新市場—泰國。我們是泰國第一家承接第一個超大規模專案的資料中心營運商。我們得到了泰國政府的大力支持。我們認為這是東南亞的下一個重大機會。

In the past few months, all the global tech leaders have announced large investment plans in Thailand. We have acquired the land for a data center campus in Chonburi province near Bangkok, which is a focus area for hyperscale deployment. We plan to develop around 120 megawatts of total IT power capacity on our first land site. We expect to serve the domestic demand from Thailand's fast-growing digital economy. We are very confident to make Thailand another success story.

過去幾個月，全球科技巨頭紛紛宣佈在泰國進行大規模投資計畫。我們已在曼谷附近的春武里府購買了資料中心園區的土地，該地區是超大規模部署的重點區域。我們計劃在我們的第一個土地上開發約 120 兆瓦的總 IT 電力容量。我們期望服務泰國快速成長的數位經濟的內需。我們非常有信心讓泰國成為另一個成功的故事。

I will now pass on to Dan for the financial and operating review.

我現在將把財務和營運審查交給 Dan。

Thank you, William. I'll run through the China segment first, followed by international.

謝謝你，威廉。我將首先介紹中國部分，然後介紹國際部分。

Starting on slide 16, in 3Q24 GDSH segment revenue increased by 6.1% and adjusted EBITDA increased by 3.6% year on year. GDSH revenue growth was mainly driven by an increase in total area utilized of 11.6% year over year. MSR per square meter has declined moderately over the past four quarters. Adjusted EBITDA margin for 3Q '24 versus 3Q '23 was down by 1 percentage point. The main reason for this is the increase in power tariffs which occurred during the second half of last year.

從投影片 16 開始，2024 年第三季 GDSH 部門營收年增 6.1%，調整後 EBITDA 較去年同期成長 3.6%。GDSH營收成長主要得益於總利用面積年增11.6%。每平方公尺的 MSR 在過去四個季度中略有下降。24 年第三季的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率與 23 年第三季相比下降了 1 個百分點。主要原因是去年下半年電價上漲。

Looking forward, we expect net additional area utilized to continue at around 15,000 square meters per quarter. We expect MSR to decline slightly over the next year and assume that power tariffs remain at current levels.

展望未來，我們預計每季淨新增使用面積將持續維持在 15,000 平方公尺左右。我們預計明年 MSR 將略有下降，並假設電價保持在當前水準。

For the first nine months of 2024, our China CapEx totalled RMB2.6 billion. We originally guided for around RMB2.5 billion for the full year. However, as we had higher move-in, we had to bring forward a small amount of CapEx. As a result, we are revising up our China CapEx guidance to around RMB3 billion for 2024. In our base case business plan for next year, we envisage China CapEx within the RMB2 billion to RMB3 billion range.

2024 年頭 9 個月，我們的中國資本支出總額為 26 億元。我們最初的全年指導額約為25億元。然而，由於我們的入住量較高，我們不得不提前少量資本支出。因此，我們將 2024 年中國資本支出指引上調至 30 億元人民幣左右。在我們明年的基本案例業務計劃中，我們預計中國資本支出將在 20 億元至 30 億元人民幣範圍內。

For the first nine months of 2024, cash flow before financing for GDSH is negative RMB293 million. The fourth quarter of the year is usually a good quarter for collections. Therefore, we expect the cash flow before financing for the full year to be positive. This is in line with our financial target. This remains a key financial objective to deliver steady growth while generating positive cash flow before financing.

2024年前9個月，粵海置業融資前現金流為負2.93億元。一年中的第四季通常是收藏的好季節。因此，我們預計全年融資前現金流為正。這符合我們的財務目標。這仍然是實現穩定成長、同時在融資前產生正現金流的關鍵財務目標。

As shown on slide 20, at the end of 3Q '24, the cash balance of GDSH decreased to RMB7.8 billion and the net debt to last quarter annualized adjusted EBITDA multiple was 7.4 times. Over 60% of our gross debt is RMB denominated project term loans. The interest on these loans is floating rate linked to the over five year LPR. This benchmark came down by 25 basis points at the end of 3Q24 and we expect to see some benefit, as our interest cost resets. As William mentioned, we are fully committed to establishing a China-REIT. This is a key financial strategy for a number of reasons. One, it will give us continuous access to the onshore equity capital market with a lower cost of equity. Two, it will increase our liquidity and enable us to accelerate de-leveraging.

如投影片 20 所示，截至 2024 年第三季末，GDSH 的現金餘額降至人民幣 78 億元，淨負債相對於上季年化調整後 EBITDA 倍數為 7.4 倍。我們總債務的60%以上是人民幣計價的項目定期貸款。該等貸款利率為與五年期以上LPR掛鉤的浮動利率。該基準在 2024 年第三季末下降了 25 個基點，隨著我們的利息成本重置，我們預計會看到一些好處。正如William所提到的，我們全力致力於建立中國REITs。出於多種原因，這是一項關鍵的財務策略。第一，它將使我們能夠以較低的股權成本持續進入境內股權資本市場。第二，它將增加我們的流動性，使我們能夠加速去槓桿。

Three, it will provide us with an additional source of capital to capture attractive new sales opportunities as AI demand takes off. And four, it will benchmark the valuation of stabilized data centers in China and give us the means to recycle capital on an accretive basis. We are approaching China REITs with two transactions in parallel. The first involves the creation and IPO of a listed C-REIT, which holds stabilized data centers. The second involves the creation of asset-backed securities, ABS, which holds ramping up data centers. The ABS is the form of security which can be injected into a C-REIT once the underlying data centers are stabilized. Hence, we call the ABS a pre-REIT .

第三，隨著人工智慧需求的起飛，它將為我們提供額外的資金來源，以抓住有吸引力的新銷售機會。第四，它將對中國穩定的資料中心的估值進行基準測試，並為我們提供在增值的基礎上回收資本的手段。我們正在與中國房地產投資信託基金接洽，同時進行兩項交易。第一個涉及創建上市的 C-REIT 並進行 IPO，該信託擁有穩定的資料中心。第二個涉及創建資產支持證券 ABS，該證券持有不斷增加的資料中心。ABS 是一種安全形式，一旦底層資料中心穩定，就可以注入 C-REIT。因此，我們將 ABS 稱為 pre-REIT。

For the C-REIT, we have already completed a very thorough review process at provincial level. Our application is now subject to a national level review by NDRC, CSRC, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange. We are aiming to obtain all the necessary approvals by the middle of next year. This would create the possibility of launching the C-REIT in the second half of 2025. For the purposes of the listing, we selected 1 large site which fits the typical C-REIT offering size of around RMB2 billion. However, once established, we would intend to eject additional data centers if it creates shareholder value.

對於C-REIT，我們已經在省級完成了非常徹底的審查過程。我們的申請目前正接受國家發改委、證監會和上海證券交易所的國家級審核。我們的目標是在明年年中之前獲得所有必要的批准。這將為 2025 年下半年推出 C-REIT 創造可能性。出於上市目的，我們選擇了 1 個大型地點，適合典型的 C-REIT 發行規模約為 20 億元。然而，一旦建立，如果能夠創造股東價值，我們將打算取消額外的資料中心。

Currently, C-REITs are trading on significantly higher multiples than the current implied multiples for our China business. For the pre-REIT, we are at the final stage of obtaining all the necessary approvals. The pre-REIT delivers many of the same benefits as the C-REIT, but it's a one-off transaction. We're trying to get it done as soon as possible. Turning to the international segment on Slide 23, in 3Q24, GDSI revenue increased by 42% and adjusted EBITDA increased by 15% quarter-on-quarter.

目前，C-REITs 的交易本益比明顯高於我們中國業務目前的隱含本益比。對於預先房地產投資信託基金，我們正處於獲得所有必要批准的最後階段。預 REIT 提供了許多與 C-REIT 相同的好處，但它是一次性交易。我們正在努力盡快完成它。轉向幻燈片 23 上的國際部分，24 年第三季度，GDSI 收入環比增長 42%，調整後 EBITDA 環比增長 15%。

Currently, we have around 103 megawatts of IT power utilized. As the delivery schedule for most of the backlog is very short, and customers undertake to move in quickly, we expect to have around 400 megawatts of utilized capacity within the next 18 months. For the first nine months of 2024, international CapEx was around RMB4 billion. We originally guided RMB4 billion for the full year, but due to the extraordinary ramp up, we now expect full year CapEx for international to be around RMB8 billion.

目前，我們使用的 IT 電力約為 103 兆瓦。由於大部分積壓訂單的交付時間表非常短，且客戶承諾迅速入住，我們預計未來 18 個月內將擁有約 400 兆瓦的已利用產能。2024 年頭 9 個月，國際資本支出約 40 億元。我們最初預計全年資本支出為 40 億元人民幣，但由於大幅增長，我們現在預計國際業務的全年資本支出約為 80 億元。

Turning to Slide 29, on 29th of October, we announced that GDSI has raised $1 billion from the issue of Series B convertible preferred shares. The issue is expected to close by the end of the year. Post-closing and on an as-converted basis, GDSH will own approximately 37.6% of GDSI. The value of our equity interest implied by the series B subscription price is approximately $1.3 billion, representing a 75% premium over the series A valuation, an equivalent to approximately $6.75 per GDS-ADS.

轉向幻燈片 29，10 月 29 日，我們宣布 GDSI 透過發行 B 系列可轉換優先股籌集了 10 億美元。該發行預計將於今年底結束。交易完成後，在轉換後的基礎上，GDSH 將擁有 GDSI 約 37.6% 的股份。B 系列認購價所隱含的我們股權的價值約為 13 億美元，比 A 系列估值溢價 75%，相當於每股 GDS-ADS 約 6.75 美元。

The private equity valuation of data centers is typically based on the sum of installed capacity, contracted backlog, and near-term sales pipeline. As GDSI ramps up its installed capacity, wins new orders, and adds to its supply of highly marketable capacity, we expect the equity valuation to increase significantly. In this round, we aimed to secure enough capital to build and deliver over 1 gigawatt of capacity. Including the sale of the proceeds of series B, we will have $2.1 billion of equity. With the addition of a moderate amount of mezzanine debt, we should be able to achieve our 1 gigawatt target.

資料中心的私募股權估值通常基於裝置容量、合約積壓訂單和近期銷售管道的總和。隨著GDSI增加裝置容量、贏得新訂單並增加高市場容量供應，我們預期股票估值將大幅上升。在這一輪中，我們的目標是獲得足夠的資金來建造和交付超過 1 吉瓦的產能。包括出售 B 輪融資所得的收益，我們將擁有 21 億美元的股權。透過增加適量的夾層債務，我們應該能夠實現 1 吉瓦的目標。

Post-closing, GDSH will deconsolidate GDSI. However, we will continue to disclose enough key information for you to track GDSI's performance. To ensure that the value of our equity investment accrues to GDSH shareholders, our Plan A is to IPO and spin off GDSI. We will give you a better sense of the timing on our next earning call. Finishing on slide 30, we are maintaining our formal guidance for FY'24 consolidated revenue and adjusted EBITDA. However, as I mentioned before, we are raising our CapEx guidance to RMB11 billion, which includes RMB3 billion for China to support the faster move-in and RMB8 billion for international, reflecting its accelerated expansion.

交易完成後，GDSH 將不再合併 GDSI。不過，我們將繼續披露足夠的關鍵信息，以便您跟踪 GDSI 的表現。為了確保我們的股權投資價值為GDSH股東帶來收益，我們的A計畫是IPO並分拆GDSI。我們將讓您更了解下一次財報電話會議的時機。在投影片 30 的最後，我們維持對 24 財年合併收入和調整後 EBITDA 的正式指導。然而，正如我之前提到的，我們將資本支出指導上調至人民幣 110 億元，其中中國人民幣 30 億元用於支持更快的入駐，國際市場人民幣 80 億元，反映了其加速擴張。

We would now like to open the call to questions. Operator?

我們現在要開始提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Yang Liu, Morgan Stanley.

劉洋，摩根士丹利。

I have one question about the China strategy. First, we saw pretty strong demand, good move-in and good booking. At the same time, we saw the upward revision of the CapEx. Is that a pull forward of the previous plan 2025 or 2026 China CapEx or is that new?

我有一個關於中國戰略的問題。首先，我們看到了相當強勁的需求、良好的入住和良好的預訂。同時，我們看到資本支出的向上修正。這是先前計劃 2025 年或 2026 年中國資本支出的提前還是新計劃？

And William just mentioned that China's future investment will be linked to the REIT strategy in China. Does that mean that if you de-lever the REIT's listing, then you can invest more aggressively in China? Without REIT, you will still be in a tight control mode of the CapEx. Does that mean this kind of a --

而William剛才提到中國未來的投資將會和中國的REIT戰略掛鉤。這是否意味著如果REIT上市去槓桿，那麼你就可以更積極地投資中國？如果沒有房地產投資信託基金，您仍將處於資本支出的嚴格控制模式中。這是否意味著這種--

Yeah, I think, Yang Liu, I think, number one, we still stick on our previous strategy, try to stabilize our business in China and maintain the, let's say, sort of the growth organically, right? And digest our inventory. This is our first priority.

是的，我認為，楊柳，我認為，第一，我們仍然堅持先前的策略，努力穩定我們在中國的業務，並保持有機成長，對吧？並消化我們的庫存。這是我們的首要任務。

But in the meanwhile, we always talk about we selected to do the new business. That means very high quality business. But of course, everybody knows we are currently trying to recycle capital in an efficient way and then create more value for our shareholders.

但同時，我們總是談論我們選擇開展新業務。這意味著非常高品質的業務。當然，大家都知道我們目前正在努力以有效的方式回收資本，然後為股東創造更多價值。

In the meanwhile, if we can do recycling capital in a sufficient way in the future, then we will start to more aggressive to take some new order, seeking the growth again. Yeah, this is, I think, we try to make the growth and stabilize more balance in the future.

同時，如果我們未來能夠充分回收資金，那麼我們將開始更積極地接一些新訂單，再次尋求成長。是的，我認為，我們試圖在未來實現成長並穩定更多的平衡。

Jonathan Atkin, RBC.

喬納森·阿特金，加拿大皇家銀行。

A couple of questions. If you could maybe talk a little bit about the development of the Batam market. It's happening more rapidly than I would have expected. Do you expect there to be a lot of smaller internet and enterprise demand or will it largely be large deployments of the type that you've recently gotten commitments for?

有幾個問題。您可以談談巴淡島市場的發展嗎？它發生的速度比我預期的要快。您是否預計會有大量較小的網路和企業需求，或者主要是您最近承諾的那種類型的大型部署？

And then secondly, on GDSI, can you talk about the ongoing financial commitment that GDS would have of that deal?

其次，關於 GDSI，您能否談談 GDS 對該交易的持續財務承諾？

Jon, your line is not that clear.

喬恩，你的台詞不太清楚。

I think the first question was about kind of demand. Was Jon talking about Batam?

我認為第一個問題是關於需求的類型。喬恩在談論巴淡島嗎？

Yeah.

是的。

So what kind of customers' interested in Batam? I think Jon was asking.

那麼什麼樣的客戶對巴淡島有興趣呢？我想喬恩在問。

Yeah, okay. Let me answer the first question. I mean, in Batam, we still view it as a SIJORI data center hub. I think that this, whatever is in Johor, or Singapore, or Batam, all the customer -- hyperscale customer, whether from the US or domestic or China, all very interested in Batam. So far, we have the very strong pipeline from the different country.

是啊，好吧。讓我回答第一個問題。我的意思是，在巴淡島，我們仍然將其視為 SIJORI 資料中心樞紐。我認為，無論是在柔佛州、新加坡或巴淡島，所有的客戶——超大規模的客戶，無論是來自美國、國內或中國，都對巴淡島非常感興趣。到目前為止，我們擁有來自不同國家的非常強大的管道。

Jon, second question.

喬恩，第二個問題。

Yeah, ongoing commitment to GDS International from GDS Holdings.

是的，萬國資料控股公司對萬國資料國際的持續承諾。

Yes, okay. On that one, I think we can be clear that the decision was made, I think, at the beginning of last year, that we would cap -- our allocation of capital to international. At the level then was around $400 million. And in the course of the series A, capital raising, we -- actually, part of the use of proceeds was to repay some shareholder loans from GDSH to GDSI to bring that number back down to the $400 million level that we had establishes our limit in terms of capital allocation.

是的，好的。在這一點上，我認為我們可以明確的是，我認為是在去年初做出的決定，我們將限制我們對國際資本的配置。當時的水準約為 4 億美元。在 A 輪融資過程中，實際上，我們將部分收益用於償還 GDSH 向 GDSI 提供的部分股東貸款，以將這一數字回落至我們設定的 4 億美元限額在資本配置方面。

So from that point forward our motivation is to make our $400 million investment as valuable as possible. Based on the Series B price, we've turned that $400 million into $1.3 billion of value. And I personally think that it will continue to increase at a rapid rate. Every shareholder or international has preemption rights, but we don't expect that GDS Holdings will exercise preemption rights in future. So GDS Holdings portion will be available to allocation to other investors, particularly investors who can add value to the international business.

因此，從那時起，我們的動機就是讓我們的 4 億美元投資盡可能有價值。根據 B 輪價格，我們已將這 4 億美元轉化為 13 億美元的價值。而且我個人認為還會繼續快速成長。每個股東或國際公司都擁有優先購買權，但我們預期萬國數據未來不會行使優先購買權。因此，萬國資料控股部分將可分配給其他投資者，特別是能夠為國際業務增加價值的投資者。

And lastly, the Singapore CFA process (inaudible) just announced within the past hour, so progress on the air, what they're going to be doing with their field, what is your visibility around finding magnitude location of where you're going to be building in Singapore?

最後，新加坡 CFA 流程（聽不清楚）剛剛在過去一小時內宣布，所以廣播中的進展情況，他們將在他們的領域做什麼，您在尋找您要去的地方的震級位置方面的能見度如何在新加坡建設？

Yeah, I think, the Singapore location, we chose a site at good location, which is another data center cluster in the western part of Singapore. I think in the future we will link them to our Johor and Batam data center campus as well. And so we will create a very good platform in SIJORI area, and which our customer very, very like. And this is number one. I think we target, of course, we target by the end of the 2026, we will complete the construction. This is our current schedule.

是的，我認為，新加坡的位置，我們選擇了一個位置很好的地點，這是新加坡西部的另一個資料中心群集。我認為將來我們也會將它們連接到我們的柔佛和巴淡島資料中心園區。因此，我們將在 SIJORI 地區創建一個非常好的平台，我們的客戶非常非常喜歡。這是第一名。我認為我們的目標當然是到2026年底，我們將完成建設。這是我們目前的日程安排。

The size of that building is quite large relative to the power quota which we had as of now. And that was a deliberate decision because with a relatively small amount of incremental investment, it gives us the option and the potential to be able to expand in a number of different ways on that same site.

相對於我們目前擁有的電力配額，建築物的規模相當大。這是一個經過深思熟慮的決定，因為透過相對少量的增量投資，它為我們提供了在同一地點以多種不同方式進行擴張的選擇和潛力。

Louis Tsang, Citi.

曾路易，花旗銀行。

Congratulations on the strong results. I think overall the domestic movements really result in very positive and encouraging. So today I have two questions. The first one is regarding the GDSI. Could you please further elaborate on the rationale of entering the Thailand market?

祝賀取得了優異的成績。我認為總的來說，國內的運動確實產生了非常積極和令人鼓舞的結果。所以今天我有兩個問題。第一個是關於 GDSI。您能否進一步闡述進入泰國市場的理由？

Or let me put it this way, how should we think about the future demand and the availability of the resources, like connectivity, power, land, water? And do you think that -- if there's any possibility that Thailand could be another DC hub similar to Johor? That's my first question. Maybe I should go one by one.

或者讓我這樣說，我們該如何考慮未來的需求和資源的可用性，例如連結性、電力、土地、水？您認為泰國是否有可能成為另一個類似柔佛州的 DC 樞紐？這是我的第一個問題。也許我應該一一去。

Okay. I think the rational to entering to Thailand, we always think about Thailand's 80 million population and the economy grows very healthy. And If noticed recently, this year, a lot of the hyperscalers announced investment in Thailand. And we also understand that digitalization, the digital economy is the key driver. It's a national -- let's say national strategy to drive the Thailand economy. So the government very, very support all the foreign investment to Thailand. So we are very proud, we are the first hyperscale player in -- enter into this market.

好的。我認為進入泰國的理性，我們總是想到泰國有8000萬人口，經濟成長非常健康。如果最近注意到的話，今年許多超大規模企業宣佈在泰國投資。我們也知道數位化、數位經濟是關鍵驅動力。這是一項推動泰國經濟的國家策略。所以政府非常非常支持所有外國投資到泰國。因此，我們非常自豪，我們是第一個進入這個市場的超大規模參與者。

We always enter into a market more early than anyone else. And then we definitely confident there's a lot of demand coming. So I think this is the rationale. In terms of the -- I think currently we are more targeted, our customers, they mainly service local domestic market. I think -- but Thailand has the potential to grow up another data center hub in Asia Pacific in terms of the local economy plus their inference for the country around them, right?

我們總是比其他人更早進入市場。然後我們絕對相信會有大量需求到來。所以我認為這就是理由。就--我認為目前我們更有針對性，我們的客戶主要服務於當地國內市場。我認為，但就當地經濟及其對週邊國家的影響而言，泰國有潛力在亞太地區發展另一個資料中心中心，對吧？

So I think in Asia Pacific, we believe there's not only one data center hub, right? In the future, I think maybe there's another two or three data center hubs that will grow up. So I think this is our rationale to think about.

所以我認為在亞太地區，我們相信不僅有一個資料中心樞紐，對吧？未來，我認為可能還會出現另外兩三個資料中心樞紐。所以我認為這是我們需要思考的理由。

And the second one is about the domestic one because I think the domestic move-in target that I just heard was really good and I just want to know like how should we -- like we calibrate the outlook for the domestic move-in like next year because it's that the demand is going to sustain but just like if there's any chance like that the move-in will see like a further acceleration next year, or which I think that like maybe you would maintain a similar level, because to me, based on my understanding, the CapEx cycle of the domestic giants similarly will accelerate in next year, the first half maybe. So I just want to know what about the outlook for that.

第二個是關於國內的，因為我認為我剛剛聽到的國內遷入目標非常好，我只是想知道我們應該如何 - 就像我們校準國內遷入的前景一樣今年，因為需求將持續下去，但就像明年是否有可能進一步加速遷入一樣，或者我認為也許你會保持類似的水平，因為對我來說，據我了解，國內巨頭的資本支出週期同樣會在明年、上半年加快。所以我只想知道前景如何。

Yeah. To clarify, because I think Liu Yang asked earlier, the slightly higher than guided CapEx this year is bring forward. It doesn't indicate that -- that's the kind of level next year. In fact, I'd say, if we were giving guidance for next year now, it would probably be the same as our original guidance for this year, around RMB2.5 billion.

是的。澄清一下，因為我認為劉洋之前問過，今年略高於指導的資本支出是提前的。它並不表明——這就是明年的水平。事實上，我想說，如果我們現在給出明年的指導，可能會和我們今年原來的指導一樣，大約25億元。

For the move-in, we're talking about net additional area utilized. The gross level is the 25,000 square meters in the third quarter and then net of churn on an annual basis. We expect 60,000 square meters this year and we're confident enough at this time to say that we expect that level next year as well. This rate of growth, as William was talking about our strategy, is really the result of continuing to be very selective in terms of new business and focusing on delivery of the backlog and minimizing CapEx to prioritize cost to complete and increase after utilization and utilization rate we expect to increase by to the high 70s from low 70s at the moment, the high 70s by the end of next year. That's our base case.

對於搬入，我們談論的是已利用的淨附加面積。總面積為第三季的 25,000 平方米，然後扣除年度流失量。我們預計今年將達到 60,000 平方米，我們現在有足夠的信心說我們預計明年也會達到這個水平。正如威廉所談論的我們的策略，這種增長率實際上是在新業務方面繼續精挑細選、專注於積壓訂單的交付和最大限度地減少資本支出以優先完成成本並在利用率和利用率之後增加的結果我們預計從目前的 70 年代低點增加到 70 年代高點，到明年年底將增加到 70 年代高點。這是我們的基本情況。

What we can't be certain about is the opportunity to undertake new campus development because undoubtedly there will be demand from hyperscale coming to Tier 1 markets which requires new development And we have a land bank, land with power quota, multiple sites around Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou. And that kind of resource is scarce, and it will be in demand. It's our choice to proceed with those kinds of opportunities if they are attractive enough. And we choose to do so.

我們無法確定的是進行新園區開發的機會，因為毫無疑問，超大規模的需求會進入一級市場，需要新的開發。 而且我們有土地儲備，有電力配額的土地，在北京周邊有多個站點，上海、深圳、廣州。而且這種資源是稀缺的，而且會有需求。如果這些機會夠有吸引力，我們就會選擇繼續抓住它們。我們選擇這樣做。

But ideally, that would go in sync with having established a mechanism and vehicle for monetizing stabilized assets. I think that's ideal from the point of view of our shareholders. The timing may not be exactly matched, but I think both are, we expect to see those kind of new development opportunities next year, and we talked about the progress we expect to make with our asset monetization both the pre-REIT and the C-REIT over the next few quarters.

但理想情況下，這將與建立穩定資產貨幣化的機制和工具同步進行。我認為從我們股東的角度來看這是理想的。時機可能並不完全匹配，但我認為兩者都是，我們預計明年會看到此類新的發展機會，我們討論了我們期望在 REIT 之前和 C- 的資產貨幣化方面取得的進展。個季度的房地產投資信託基金。

Okay, thank you so much. Looking forward to the further development. Thank you so much. I have no further questions. Thank you.

好的，非常感謝。期待後續的發展。太感謝了。我沒有其他問題了。謝謝。

Frank Louthan, Raymond James.

弗蘭克·勞森，雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

On the Batam design, can you give us some idea of what makes that so advanced? And when you do a build like that, how much of that CapEx are you paying for in your book that's sort of at risk versus customers that are building in that what you charge them to pay for you know what I assume is additional cooling or other things like that?

關於巴淡島的設計，您能否告訴我們是什麼讓它如此先進？當你進行這樣的構建時，你在你的書中支付了多少資本支出，這與正在構建的客戶相比存在風險，因為你向他們收取的費用你知道我認為是額外的冷卻或其他費用諸如此類的事情？

This is a liquid cooling design, a base design. I think this is definitely - all the new design for the AI. We call the AI ready data center, right? I think of course a lot of the designs are mainly customized by the customers. They pay everything in print.

這是液冷設計，基礎設計。我認為這絕對是人工智慧的全新設計。我們稱之為人工智慧就緒資料中心，對吧？我認為當然很多設計主要是由客戶訂製的。他們支付所有印刷品。

Okay, and what sort of power density are you able to get with this design? Is there a limit to it or how should we think about that?

好的，透過這種設計您可以獲得什麼樣的功率密度？它有限制嗎？

It's around the -- let's say, averages around the 20 kW. Maybe, yeah, it's roughly, I think. Yeah.

比如說，平均功率約為 20 kW。也許，是的，我想大概是這樣。是的。

Edison Lee, Jefferies.

愛迪生李，傑弗里斯。

I think I want to focus on China because, well, I'm very interested by -- but when I looked at the net area utilized, it grew by 11%, 12% on a year-on-year basis, but your China revenue only grew by 6% on a year-on-year basis. So can you help us understand the trend of that unit pricing going forward?

我想我想關注中國，因為，嗯，我非常感興趣——但是當我查看所利用的淨面積時，它同比增長了 11%、12%，但是中國收入同比僅增長6%。那麼您能幫助我們了解未來單位定價的趨勢嗎？

Yeah, the reason for the disparity between increase in area utilized and revenue is that there's always a lag, right, because the move-in happens over a period of time. I think from 3Q '23 to 3Q '24, there was a 4% decrease in the MSR. If you do that comparison on a like-for-like basis, the decline over the past year has been less than that in most quarters. But third quarter -- the third quarter, it was 4%.

是的，使用面積和收入成長之間存在差異的原因是總是存在滯後，對吧，因為遷入是在一段時間內發生的。我認為從 23 年第三季到 24 年第三季度，MSR 下降了 4%。如果您進行同類比較，您會發現去年的下降幅度小於大多數季度的下降幅度。但第三季度——第三季度，是 4%。

And it was also during the third quarter of 2023 that power tariffs, both the tariffs charged by the generator and by the grid, both went up in the third quarter of 2023. And that resulted in like 1 percentage point reduction in the adjusted EBITDA margin when we compare 3Q '24 versus 3Q '23. So I think those two together explain the disparity between the increase in the area utilized, and the revenue and EBITDA growth rates. Going forward, I think over the next four quarters you can expect the MSR to decline by something like 2% if you compare the same quarter of each year.

也是在2023年第三季度，電價（包括發電機電價和電網電價）在2023年第三季均上漲。當我們比較 2024 年第三季與 23 年第三季時，這導致調整後 EBITDA 利潤率下降了約 1 個百分點。因此，我認為這兩者共同解釋了所利用面積的增加以及收入和 EBITDA 成長率之間的差異。展望未來，我認為在接下來的四個季度中，如果與每年同一季度進行比較，預計 MSR 將下降 2% 左右。

So does it mean that assuming that, as said earlier, the net additional utilized next year would be, let's say, 60,000 square meters and then you have price erosion of 2% final revenue and actually grow at high single digit right next year.

那麼，這是否意味著假設，如前所述，明年的淨額外使用面積為 60,000 平方米，那麼最終收入的價格侵蝕為 2%，並且明年實際上會以高個位數增長。

That's right. I mean, aim for 10%.

這是正確的。我的意思是，目標是 10%。

Aim for 10%. Okay. And then a quick follow-up. I mean, given slightly higher CapEx this year on China and then you're talking about maybe investing in some high potential new projects, does it change your objective or previous target to be free cash flow breakeven in 2025?

目標是10%。好的。然後快速跟進。我的意思是，鑑於今年中國的資本支出略高，然後您正在談論可能投資一些高潛力的新項目，這是否會改變您的目標或之前的目標，即在 2025 年實現自由現金流盈虧平衡？

No, it doesn't. First off, that's not reflected in the numbers. It's an upside opportunity that we're just flagging, but it would require additional investment. I think we will, in our base case, be constantly positive in terms of cash flow before financing next year as indeed we will this year. If we incur additional investment and the CapEx is higher than say the RMB2.5 billion number that I mentioned, hopefully that will be in conjunction with having completed some asset monetization and that net should result in us still being positive.

不，事實並非如此。首先，這並沒有反映在數字中。這是一個我們剛剛忽略的上行機會，但它需要額外的投資。我認為，在我們的基本情況下，明年融資前的現金流將持續保持正值，今年也是如此。如果我們進行額外投資並且資本支出高於我提到的 25 億元人民幣，希望這將與完成一些資產貨幣化相結合，並且該淨值應該會導致我們仍然樂觀。

Sara Wang, UBS.

王莎拉，瑞銀。

Hi. Congratulations on the solid set of results. I have two questions. First is on China. So would you please elaborate more on the potential outlook of China business? Meaning I think as management just mentioned, if we want to grab the AI opportunity in Tier 1 markets that involves new investment. But at the same time, we are also having quite a decent backlog.

你好。恭喜您取得了紮實的成果。我有兩個問題。首先是關於中國。能否詳細介紹一下中國業務的潛在前景？這意味著我認為正如管理層剛才提到的，如果我們想抓住涉及新投資的一級市場的人工智慧機會。但同時，我們也有相當可觀的積壓。

So previously, we were talking about cost to complete existing backlog. Is there any change in the cost to complete assumptions given now the demand is driven by AI, but maybe some of the backlog is entered one or two years ago in the late cloud cycle.

之前，我們討論的是完成現有積壓工作的成本。鑑於現在需求是由人工智慧驅動的，完成假設的成本是否有任何變化，但也許一些積壓是在一兩年前的雲週期後期進入的。

And then my second question is international business. Given the solid new orders signed this year, how shall we think about the new orders into next year for example, in terms of volume? And then I'm glad to see that we're entering into new markets, but given we are working in multiple overseas markets, which one is our top priority?

我的第二個問題是國際商務。鑑於今年簽署的新訂單數量強勁，我們如何看待明年的新訂單，例如，從數量角度來看？然後我很高興看到我們正在進入新市場，但考慮到我們正在多個海外市場開展業務，哪一個是我們的首要任務？

Let me start with the cost to complete. So as of the end of the third quarter of '24 we had 120,000 square meters under construction, and the cost to complete for that capacity is RMB6 billion. Some small part of it actually relates to some data centers which are already in service because sometimes there is some cost to complete, meaning fitting out some space which is not yet utilized, where we are able to phase the timing of the installation of M&E and so on. But across the in-service and under-construction portfolio, the cost to complete in aggregate is RMB6 billion.

讓我從完成的成本開始。截至2024年第三季末，我們正在建面積為12萬平方米，完成該產能的成本為60億元。其中一小部分實際上與一些已經投入使用的資料中心有關，因為有時要完成一些成本，這意味著要裝修一些尚未利用的空間，我們可以在其中分階段安裝機電和設備的時間很快。但在營運中和在建項目中，完成成本總計為 60 億元。

If we were to undertake a completely new project, we would be utilizing land and energy quota, which we already have. That's why we put into our earnings presentation again a disclosure about how much capacity we have held for future development because this is becoming relevant again. And this is scarce resource. There are not that many options for customers if they're looking for somewhere to be able to deploy 50 megawatts or more in the edge-of-town around Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou. And we have a number of solutions for that.

如果我們要開展一個全新的項目，我們將利用我們現有的土地和能源配額。這就是為什麼我們在收益報告中再次揭露我們為未來發展擁有多少能力，因為這再次變得重要。而這是稀缺資源。如果客戶想要在北京、上海、深圳、廣州週邊的城鎮邊緣尋找能夠部署 50 兆瓦或更多電力的地方，那麼他們的選擇並不多。我們對此有很多解決方案。

But you know our unit development cost in China, 50 megawatts, we're probably talking about incremental RMB1 billion to RMB1.5 billion. But one project like that could add 4 or 5 percentage points to our growth rate. So that's how we think about it, but we're just talking about it now because it's a possibility for us next year, but it's our choice whether we go ahead with that. It really depends a lot on how attractive the commercial terms are.

但你知道我們在中國的單位開發成本是 50 兆瓦，我們可能正在談論增量 10 億至 15 億人民幣。但像這樣的一個項目可以使我們的成長率增加 4 或 5 個百分點。這就是我們的想法，但我們現在只是談論它，因為明年我們有可能這樣做，但是否繼續這樣做是我們的選擇。這實際上在很大程度上取決於商業條款的吸引力。

Yeah, I think here we still, in terms of the international market, I think we definitely -- SIJORI is still our main focus, SIJORI area, and we're well positioned on that. And we have very good location and a customer base already. And we see that a lot of demand in our pipeline.

是的，我認為就國際市場而言，我認為我們絕對 - SIJORI 仍然是我們的主要關注點，SIJORI 領域，我們在這方面處於有利地位。我們已經擁有非常好的地理位置和客戶群。我們看到我們的管道中有很多需求。

And I think to monetize our position, our secured power and the land is our -- definitely is our first priority. But in terms of the new market, in terms of new sales, I think the next year we aim to let's say 200 megawatt and last quarter I said in a three years we will double our -- we try to reach to the 1 gigawatt sales in next three years. So I think this is our target. And I think we are very confident on this target, which set the bar really.

我認為，將我們的地位、我們獲得的權力和土地貨幣化，這絕對是我們的首要任務。但就新市場而言，就新銷量而言，我認為明年我們的目標是 200 兆瓦，上個季度我說過三年內我們將翻倍——我們努力達到 1 吉瓦的銷量未來三年。所以我認為這是我們的目標。我認為我們對這個目標非常有信心，這確實設定了標準。

And in terms of new market, I think there's definitely a new market, so another strategy, because this demand wave is global demand. If you look at it, the AI-driven demand is not only in Southeast Asia, even Japan and the Middle East, Europe and the US as well. So we try to maintain our -- let's say, long-term growth. So we should look at the new market opportunity very closely. So Taiwan market is one of our new market, but I think that it's still in the Southeast Asia.

就新市場而言，我認為肯定有一個新市場，所以還有另一個策略，因為這個需求浪潮是全球需求。如果你看一下，人工智慧驅動的需求不僅在東南亞，甚至日本和中東、歐洲和美國也是如此。因此，我們努力保持長期成長。因此，我們應該密切關注新的市場機會。所以台灣市場是我們的新市場之一，但我認為它仍然在東南亞。

But I think we also target some new market like Japan, like we already started a new project already. But it's a test of water project. We have our team very closely to follow up the market trend in Japan. And even we have some study, very deep study in the European market. So we try to set up another couple of the growth engine in the next few years.

但我認為我們也瞄準了一些新市場，像是日本，就像我們已經開始了一個新專案一樣。但這是一個試水計畫。我們的團隊非常密切地追蹤日本的市場趨勢。甚至我們對歐洲市場也進行了一些研究，非常深入的研究。因此，我們嘗試在未來幾年內建立另外兩個成長引擎。

Thank you. As there are no further questions, I'd like to now turn the call back over to the company for closing remarks.

謝謝。由於沒有其他問題，我現在想將電話轉回公司進行結束語。

Thank you all for attending today, and we'll see you next time. Bye.

感謝大家今天的出席，我們下次再見。再見。

Thank you.

謝謝。

This concludes the conference call. You may now disconnects your line. Thank you.

電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路。謝謝。