China's social media giant ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, plans to spend about MYR10 billion ($2.13 billion) on investments to establish Malaysia as an AI hub, along with an additional MYR1.5 billion investment to expand its local data center.
Malaysia's Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul announced the investment agreement following a meeting with TikTok's Vice President Helena Lersch (June 7), where they discussed TikTok's development in Malaysia.
This investment aims to support the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in the country and position Malaysia as a leading AI hub in Southeast Asia. In addition, Zafrul explained that ByteDance also intends to expand its data center facility in Johor, Malaysia, by investing an additional MYR1.5 billion. This move is to anticipate future needs and reinforce ByteDance's commitment to Malaysia.
Zafrul is optimistic that this significant investment will have a significant positive impact on Malaysia. He aims to increase Malaysia's digital economy to 22.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025.
ByteDance's move is in line with the global trend where major tech companies are racing to invest in AI and establish Southeast Asian countries as development hubs.
The move marks Malaysia's increasingly strategic position on the Asia-Pacific technology investment map. Amid geopolitical tensions in the region, Malaysia is emerging as an attractive destination for major companies to expand their businesses.
Google and Microsoft are the latest examples, with each company pledging to invest $2 billion in Malaysia. These investments are expected to have a significant positive impact on Malaysia's digital economy.
