Company: GDHLF
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001410578-25-000935
Chunk: 23

Company: GDS Holdings Ltd
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 3
Chunk 23
---
 authorizations are required to be obtained for the construction and operation of data centers, among which the fixed-asset investment project filings and energy conversation review opinions are the primary governmental authorizations for the construction and operation of data centers. For more details, see “ Item 4. Information on the Company - B. Business Overview - Regulatory Matters Related to Our Business - People’s Republic of China Regulations - Regulations Related to Filing and Energy Conservation of Fixed-Asset Investment.”

In addition to national laws and regulations, various provincial and municipal governments also issued in the past few years local regulations to impose additional regulatory requirements and tighten enforcement of such regulatory requirements on the construction and operation of data centers in order to conserve energy and reduce carbon emission. As the regulatory regime for the construction and operation of data centers has a relatively short history and has been constantly evolving, relevant government authorities have broad discretion in the interpretation and enforcement of relevant regulatory requirements and the regulatory practice may vary significantly in terms of time and place.

Local requirements and regulatory practice have been further tightened following the announcement of the PRC government’s carbon neutrality policy initiative in 2021. For example, the Energy Bureau of Guangdong Province published the Notice on the Investigation and Punishment of Illegal Energy Use, theNotice on the Rectification of Data Center Projects Violating Laws and Regulations in Guangdong Provinceand the Letter on Cooperation in Taking Control Measures for Power Consumption of Projects Violating Laws and Regulationin June 2021, October 2021 and July 2022 respectively to strengthen the supervision of power consumption of data centers, required that data centers without energy conservation review opinion be ordered to shut down if rectification cannot be completed within the prescribed period and conditioned the approval of power supply and its installation applications on the receipt of the energy conservation review opinion. For more details and examples, see “ Item 4. Information on the Company - B. Business Overview - Regulatory Matters Related to Our Business - People’s Republic of China Regulations - Regulations Related to Filing and Energy Conservation of Fixed-Asset Investment.”

Table of Contents

In addition, artificial intelligence technologies have developed rapidly in recent years. Given that the computing power, which may rely on IDC and cloud services, exerts significant influence over artificial intelligence technologies, regulations, policies and rules with respect to new data center development have been issued in order to meet the demand for data and computing power. Meanwhile, the PRC government authorities specially promulgated certain laws to regulate the algorithmic recommendation and deep synthesis technology which are closely related to the generative AI technology since the end