Total data centre capacity in the Greater China region (comprising of key cities Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Taipei) is expected to be dominated by Taiwan with some 40% total share, according to a new report by consulting firm BroadGroup.

The BroadGroup report said that Taiwan, which has the highest distribution of data centre facilities, will increase its current capacity by almost half again in the next 12 months. Taiwan was named as the largest market by space, with FarEastTone as the largest player in the markets covered by space.

According to the report, Hong Kong remained the largest area by density and China remains fertile ground for data centre investment and international firms such as AT&T and Tata Telecommunications.

BroadGroup expects the next few years to be vibrant for the sector, with data centre expansion and inward investment responding to increased demand and driving growth. The report also suggests that a regional play is now emerging which will alter the structure of ownership and competition in the data centre market over the next few years.

Siow Meng Soh, associate consultant at BroadGroup, said: "Robust economic growth, improved telecom infrastructure and the rush to offer cloud-based, everything-as-a-service offerings are key factors driving data centre vendors to develop large-scale, high quality and energy-efficient data centres in Greater China."