Amazon plans to build a data center in Malaysia, Microsoft is investing in the country's new cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure, and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is looking to boost the country's digital economy with "substantial tech investments," the Edge Malaysia Weekly reports.
MDEC CEO Mahadhir Aziz says the companies' investments are "committed," but "the actual realization of those investments will happen gradually over time."
MDEC is working with the government, the private sector, and universities to "accelerate the implementation of these investments," according to a press release.
"The good thing about this is that at the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint 14 and MED4IR (the National Council of Digital Economy and the Fourth Industrial Revolution) will act as resources from which the public can get information on these investments and their impact on the digital economy," says MDEC's minister of digital literacy.
MDEC says it has approved more than $11 billion in digital investments between 2021 and 2023, with data centers making up the lion's share of the total.
The country aims to have its digital economy contribute 25.5% to Malaysia's gross domestic product by the end of next year, says Gobind Singh Deo, Malaysia's minister of digital literacy.
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