ByteDance plans RM10 billion investment in Malaysia for AI: minister

CHINA’S ByteDance, parent of social media app TikTok, plans to invest around RM10 billion (S$2.9 billion) to set up an artificial intelligence hub in Malaysia, the country’s trade minister said on Friday (Jun 7).

As part of the deal, the latest in a number of global tech companies expanding into South-east Asia, ByteDance will also expand its data centre facilities in Malaysia’s Johor state through an additional RM1.5 billion investment, Investment, Trade And Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said.

“This additional investment by ByteDance will undoubtedly help Malaysia achieve its target of growing the digital economy to 22.6 per cent of Malaysia’s gross domestic product by 2025,” Tengku Zafrul said in a post on X.

The announcement follows similar large investments in Malaysia by other tech giants in recent months.

Last month, Google said it was planning a US$2 billion investment to develop its first data centre and Google Cloud region in Malaysia, while Microsoft said it will invest US$2.2 billion to expand cloud and AI services. REUTERS