By Oluwajuwon Olarinmoye
Google will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to establish the firm’s first data centre in the country, the government announced on Thursday. This move makes Google the latest tech giant to pour substantial funds into the region, eyeing growth opportunities.
The investment is expected to support 26,500 jobs across various sectors in Malaysia, including healthcare, education, and finance. This announcement comes shortly after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim set an ambitious target of attracting at least $107 billion in investments for the semiconductor industry.
In April, Anwar unveiled plans to build Southeast Asia’s largest integrated circuit design park, promising incentives such as tax breaks and subsidies to attract global tech companies and investors. This aligns with his strategy to bolster Malaysia’s position in the high-tech industry.
Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Google and its parent company Alphabet, highlighted the significance of this investment. “Google’s first data centre and Google Cloud region is our largest planned investment so far in Malaysia – a place Google has been proud to call home for 13 years,” Porat said.
She further stated, “This investment builds on our partnership with the Malaysian government to advance its ‘Cloud First Policy’, including best-in-class cybersecurity standards.” The initiative marks a milestone in Google’s commitment to enhancing Malaysia’s digital infrastructure.
Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz noted that the $2 billion investment “will significantly advance” Malaysia’s digital ambitions outlined in the 2030 masterplan. He added that the new data centre and cloud region would enable local industries to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced technologies to move up the global value chain.
This development follows Microsoft’s announcement earlier this month to invest $2.2 billion in AI and cloud computing in Malaysia. Additionally, Amazon committed to spending $9 billion in Singapore over the next four years to expand its cloud computing capabilities in the city-state.
The Google facility will be situated at a business park west of the capital Kuala Lumpur and will support Google’s popular digital services such as Search, Maps, and Workspace. “When operational, Malaysia will join the 11 countries where Google has built and currently operates data centres to serve users around the world,” the company stated.
This investment positions Malaysia as a key player in the global tech landscape, especially as American tech giants diversify their investments away from China. Oh Ei Sun, an analyst with the Pacific Research Center of Malaysia, remarked, “Now that many of these American tech giants are diversifying their investment risks away from China, Malaysia, with its traditional involvement in high-tech industry, is in a good position to welcome the relocation of their operations.”
Reported By Oluwajuwon Olarinmoye