HK Stock Concept Tracker | AI Power Crunch Hits! North American Computing Demand May Spill Over to Asia; Domestic Gas Turbines Face Overseas Opportunities (with Concept Stocks)

AI is becoming an industry capable of reshaping the global energy demand landscape. Goldman Sachs expects global data center electricity demand to grow 170% from 2025 to 2030, with more than 60% of the incremental demand coming from the United States. Morgan Stanley expects U.S. data center electricity demand to reach 97GW by 2028, with a potential supply gap of about 70GW. Goldman Sachs notes that in the U.S., for example, about 2,600GW of generation and storage projects are currently awaiting grid connection, more than twice the existing installed generation capacity. However, the median wait from submitting a grid connection application to actual commercial operation is about 5 years, and in some major markets it takes 8 to 12 years. Goldman Sachs says cumulative capital expenditure on global computing power, data centers and power infrastructure will reach about US$7.6 trillion from 2026 to 2031. In 2026 alone, related annual investment will reach US$765 billion and will continue to grow thereafter. By 2030, the additional electricity consumption brought by AI will be roughly equivalent to Japan's total annual electricity consumption. It is reported that as electricity demand from AI data centers surges, key power equipment such as gas turbines is in short supply, and delivery lead times for new equipment continue to lengthen. Utilities, developers and other companies supplying power to U.S. AI data centers are searching globally for second-hand gas turbines, reactivating long-idled equipment, and even converting retired aircraft engines into power generation equipment. Jefferies expects U.S. data center demand for gas turbines alone to approach 17GW this year, and possibly grow to more than three times the current level by 2028. By then, global gas turbine demand is expected to reach 129GW, but manufacturing capacity is expected to reach only about 87GW. The U.S. midterm elections have prompted the market to reassess the expansion outlook for AI computing infrastructure and the data center power chain. Morgan Stanley analysts note that delays in some U.S. data center projects may push about 15GW of computing demand originally planned for the U.S. to shift to Asia earlier, raising local data center utilization and further highlighting the scarcity value of reliable power sources, grid access and storage facilities. Asian power equipment and power supply solution providers are expected to usher in a new round of investment opportunities. The Morgan Stanley analyst team says potential beneficiaries in Asia from the spillover of North American AI data center demand include: Thai power giant Gulf Development, Singapore infrastructure and asset management giant Keppel, Indian private thermal power leader Adani Power, Chinese hydropower leader China Yangtze Power, Korean battery and energy storage giant Samsung SDI, and Japanese regional power leader Hokkaido Electric Power. In the Hong Kong stock market, in the first three quarters of 2026, Weichai Power achieved operating revenue of RMB181.171 billion, up 6.21% year on year; net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB10.659 billion, up 20.06% year on year; and net profit excluding non-recurring items of RMB9.339 billion, up 17.1% year on year. All three figures hit record highs. Weichai Power management said the earnings improvement was mainly due to a higher proportion of high-value-added products such as large-bore power generation engines and data center power generation products. Leveraging its technical accumulation and delivery advantages in large-bore engines, Weichai Power has quickly entered the data center power supply track. In the first three quarters, sales of M-series large-bore engines exceeded 11,000 units, up more than 40% year on year, already exceeding the full-year 2025 level; among them, sales of data center diesel power generation products exceeded 2,700 units, up nearly 200% year on year. In 2025, the company's full-year M-series sales exceeded 10,000 units for the first time, revenue grew 65%, and data center backup power sales grew 259%, with the high-growth momentum continuing in 2026. China Securities Co.,Ltd. notes that global gas turbine orders remain robust, and the share of U.S. gas-fired generation under construction and AIDC-related projects is rising in tandem. Domestic gas turbines, with shorter delivery cycles, higher cost-effectiveness and continuously strengthening product competitiveness, are expected to accelerate their capture of overseas market share. The firm is firmly bullish on domestic gas turbines going global. Related concept stocks: Dongfang Electric Corporation (01072): Ranked among the top domestically in independent F-class heavy-duty gas turbines, with localized main units for the G50 50MW gas turbine, achieving complete-unit export to Kazakhstan; it has extensive engineering track records in large domestic power stations and gas storage peak-shaving projects, and is also developing smaller-capacity independent gas turbine products such as the G15. Shanghai Electric Group (02727): Conducts deep technical cooperation with overseas companies and has F/H-class heavy-duty gas turbine manufacturing capability; the 300MW-class F-class prototype has completed final assembly, hydrogen-blended combustion technology continues to iterate, and it provides equipment for peak-shaving scenarios in China's new power system. Weichai Power (02338): Goldman Sachs believes Weichai has transformed from a traditional heavy truck engine leader into an AI data center power generation business. The company's strategic businesses such as power energy and new energy power continue to scale: in the first three quarters, sales of M-series large-bore engines exceeded 11,000 units, up more than 40% year on year; sales of data center diesel power generation products exceeded 2,700 units, up nearly 200% year on year; and power battery sales reached 9.3GWh, up more than 140% year on year, with profit quality and business structure improving in tandem.