The new $63 million HK2 IBX data center will provide total capacity for more than 1,450 cabinet equivalents. Targeted for opening in the third quarter of 2011, the $20 million first phase of the HK2 IBX center will offer an initial 450 cabinet equivalents. The expansion enables Equinix to continue serving the Hong Kong market with business exchange services for global enterprises, banking and financial companies, and cloud and IT service providers.

The Hong Kong market is one of the largest concentrations of banking and financial companies in the region. Located near the existing HK1 IBX data center in the western part of the New Territories region, the HK2 facility will have direct fiber connection with the HK1 IBX data center. This connectivity enables prospective customers at HK2 to enjoy close proximity and direct access to the financial ecosystems, including trading venues, buy and sell side firms, market data providers, technology providers and financial networks, at the HK1 IBX data center. The new IBX data center will also feature highly reliable data center services and operations, offering availability, scalability and low latency connectivity to a wide range of networks available at the HK1 IBX data center. These services are especially important to cloud and IT service providers looking to optimize business exchange and increase end-user satisfaction.

"Companies seek to deploy mission critical applications within a well-connected, carrier-neutral data center operator with a presence around the world," said Steve Smith, CEO and President of Equinix. "Equinix's global platform provides state-of-the-art colocation and reliable interconnection services across 35 markets. Our customers can choose from top network providers and connect with partners in market ecosystems to optimize business performance."

"Hong Kong is a critical data center market for global customers. For the past two years, Equinix has been expanding its HK1 IBX data center to meet increasing demand, which is currently operating at more than 70 percent utilization. The HK2 expansion will help service ongoing customer demand, further demonstrating Equinix's commitment and confidence in the Hong Kong market," said Jonathan Leung, managing director, Equinix Greater China.

The HK2 is the fourth in a series of recently announced IBX data center expansions in the Asia Pacific region. Equinix has recently announced the expansion of SY3 data center in Sydney, the third phase expansion of the existing SG2 center in Singapore, and launched a new market in Shanghai with its partnership with Shanghai Data Solutions (SDS)