Oct 23 (Reuters) - Blackstone Chief Operating

Officer Jon Gray said on Thursday the firm's portfolio saw a

doubling in its data center leasing pipeline globally in the

third quarter from the second.

"Some people may be concerned about that but compute power

and needs are going up," Gray told analysts on a conference

call.

"The key for us... is to make sure we do this in a prudent

way," Gray said, saying the firm would look for long-term leases

and assess tenants' credit quality. "We are doing this at scale

in our credit business, there we are also lending to entities

where there is equity plus long-term leases as well."

(Reporting by Isla Binnie in New York and Arasu Kannagi Basil in

Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )