Company: GDHLF
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001410578-25-000935
Chunk: 30

Company: GDS Holdings Ltd
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 3
Chunk 30
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’ power consumption can lead to higher electricity tariffs, potentially having a negative impact on our operations.

Table of Contents

Implementation of China’s “ East Data and West Computation” policy subjects us to regulatory and economic uncertainty.

In December 2020, the NDRC, CAC, MIIT and National Energy Administration jointly released the Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of a National Integrated Large Data Center Collaborative Innovation System, or the guiding opinions. The guiding opinions proposed the construction of a nationwide integrated data center system. The above four agencies have since issued a series of related policy documents, including the Implementation Plan for Computing Power Hubs of the National Integrated Large Data Center Collaborative Innovation System, or the Implementation Plan, in May 2021, which introduced the policy of “ East Data and West Computation.” By moving data that does not require intensive computation from eastern regions to the resource-rich western regions, the “ East Data and West Computation” policy aims to optimize the use of the national resources, correct the imbalance in supply and demand of computing capacity and promote the overall development of data centers in both western and eastern regions.

The Implementation Plan and other policy documents identify eight computing hubs in eastern and western China, and designate ten data center clusters in specific locations within these hubs to complete the overall layout of the national integrated big data center system. We have started to develop and operate hyperscale data centers in some of the hubs designated by the “ East Data and West Computation” policy to meet customer demand prior to the introduction of such policy and will continue to do so to meet increased customer demand. Most of our existing data center capacity, including area in service, area under construction and area held for future development is located within the four computing hubs in eastern China and a portion of it is in the ten designated data center clusters. We therefore believe our long-term strategy is aligned with the policy aims. Nevertheless, there are uncertainties on how the policy will be implemented in practice and how this policy will affect the customer demand. For example, according to the Implementation Opinions of the National Development and Reform Commission and Other Ministries and Commissions on In-depth Implementation of the “ East-to-West Computing Resource Transfer Project” to Accelerate the Construction of a National Integrated Computing Power Networkpromulgated by the NDRC, the National Bureau of Data, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the MIIT and the National Energy Administration on December 25, 2023, in principle, no large or extra-large data centers shall be newly