MITI Welcomes Microsoft’s First Data Centre Region in Malaysia - A Game-Changer for Malaysia’s Digital Economic Transformation

The Ministry of International Trade & Investment (MITI) through its agency the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), is proud to pronounce Microsoft’s Bersama Malaysia initiative as a game-changer towards the country’s digital-first agenda, in line with the nation’s MyDIGITAL aspirations.

Microsoft’s plan to establish its first data centre region in Malaysia and its catalytic role in digital infrastructure is set to accelerate the nation’s innovation in cloud technologies, further boosting local and foreign investors’ confidence in Malaysia. Microsoft’s commitment to providing up to 1 million Malaysians by December 2023 will propel the local digital workforce to drive the nation’s digital economic growth.

Microsoft’s Bersama Malaysia was launched yesterday by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Prime Minister of Malaysia. Also present at the launch ceremony were Dato' Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI); Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office for Economics; Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Minister of Finance; and Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, Minister of Human Resources. This collaboration strengthens Microsoft’s long-term commitment to help empower Malaysia’s inclusive digital economy through public-private partnerships.

Mr. Arham Abdul Rahman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MIDA, who was also present at the launch, congratulated Microsoft on its Bersama Malaysia initiative. “Malaysia has tremendous opportunity to fortify itself as a preferred location for technology players. Microsoft’s investment with its first data centre region in our country is a strong testament to Malaysia’s pro-business, pro-trade and business-friendly investment policies. Having Microsoft, a global technology player expanding its footprint in the digital infrastructure in Malaysia, helps form the backbone for a sustainable digital ecosystem. Most importantly, Microsoft’s commitment through its world-class digital infrastructure will position us in a higher rank to progress into a digital nation.” said Mr Arham.

“Microsoft’s long-term presence for nearly 30 years also reflects their confidence in our local talents in driving the nation’s digital transformation. We will continue to support Microsoft’s efforts in Malaysia, particularly in transforming the nation’s digital landscape, infrastructure and its skilled workforce, thus enhancing Malaysia’s competitiveness and attractiveness as the preferred destination for high technology investments,” he added. The upcoming Microsoft data centre region is expected to benefit local businesses, the Government, and communities across all sectors. The local data centre region will comprise a set of data centres located within Greater Kuala Lumpur, deployed within a latency-defined perimeter and connected through a dedicated low-latency network. Users are able to gain fast access to Microsoft’s leading-edge cloud services as well as the ability to store data and applications in the country.

The data centre region will also feature Azure Availability Zones, with unique features such as physical locations equipped with independent power; network and cooling support for additional tolerance and withstand datacenter failures. This ensures data remains available and protected, even when there’s an event impacting the data centre site such as power failure; without comprising data residency, privacy, security or compliance. Based on research conducted by IDC1, Microsoft’s investment in Malaysia will assist in generating approximately RM19 billion in revenues over the next four (4) years within the country’s ecosystem of local partners and cloud-consuming customers. Moreover, Microsoft and its partners, together with the cloud-using customers will also assume significant roles in growing the nation’s workforce, contributing more than 19,000 direct and indirect new job opportunities over the same period of time.

Mr K. Raman, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia, added, “Having a robust digital infrastructure and a future-ready digital workforce will play a profound role in ensuring Malaysia’s economic recovery and resilience. We fully support the Government’s bold and progressive vision as targeted in the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint. We are confident that the digital-first, cloud-first policy outlined in the Blueprint will further propel innovation and accelerate the nation’s transformation to become a regional leader in the digital economy. In support of this and echoing our Bersama Malaysia commitment, we are humbled by the support extended by MIDA and we look forward to strengthening our partnership to realise Malaysia’s inclusive digital aspirations.”

Mr Arham concluded that the Government will continue to adopt a targeted approach in attracting investments. The Government recognises the need to develop the high technology sectors as one of the strategies to sustain the momentum of economic growth and to improve the competitiveness and resilience of the Malaysian economy. In remaining on this steady path, the National Digital Economy and Fourth Industrial Council (MED4IR) will optimise the development of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technology and digital economy, in line with the 2030 Shared Prosperity Vision and Sustainable Development Agenda. The Economic Cluster of the MED4IR Council will be governed by MITI, with MIDA as an active Committee Member in the Government's initiatives to drive the national 4IR and digital growth.

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