MY looks to attract Microsoft and Google as it works towards becoming a data hub

Malaysian minister of investment, trade and industry Zafrul Abdul Aziz is looking to have tech giants such as Microsoft and Google set up operations in Malaysia. This is as the government looks to make Malaysia a data and tech hub.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Minister Zafrul said that efforts to attract as many data giants are underway, adding that Malaysia is working on establishing itself as data centre hub.

“We are seeing the realignment of the supply chain in resiliency and security coming here [Malaysia],” Minister Zafrul explained to Bloomberg. 

In the same interview, he also added that investments are a key engine of a nation’s growth and with that, he stated that the Malaysian government is aiming for the GDP to show a 4.5% growth this year.

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Microsoft and Google will not be the first of their kind to establish a presence in Malaysia. In March this year, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Tesla announced their plans to move into Malaysia.

The launch of AWS aims to give developers, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and enterprises, as well as government, education, and non-profit organisations a greater choice for running their applications and serving end users from data centres located in Malaysia. AWS’ commitment includes a plan to invest approximately RM 25.5 billion in Malaysia by 2037.

Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim said AWS’ commitment is the largest international technology investment to date in Malaysia, “which will advance the Malaysia Madani vision of a highly skilled, innovative, prosperous, and sustainable economy.” Additionally, he said that launching AWS in Malaysia is a vote of support for Malaysia's leadership in the global digital economy.

TESLA’s presence in Malaysia is expected to create skilled and better paying job opportunities for workers in the BEV segment and increase the participation of local companies in the Tesla ecosystem both domestically and globally. Minister Zafrul Aziz said that the move demonstrates Tesla’s confidence in Malaysia’s economic fundamentals and conducive business environment.

“Malaysian companies supply a lot of the parts for Tesla as well and they it (Tesla) wants to be close to the supply chain,” Minister Zafrul said in the interview.

Malaysia is positioning itself as a neutral supply chain base amidst growing tensions between United States and China, and consequently, giants in the tech and data space are heading to Malaysia's shores to set up shop, he added. 

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