1. YB Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz,
Minister of Investment, Trade & Industry, Malaysia
2. Mr. Raymond Tong,
APAC President, Vantage Data Centers
3. Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Ramli bin Ishak,
Chairman, Cyberview
4. Tuan Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid, Chief Executive Officer, MIDA
5. Tuan Kamarul Ariffin Abdul Samad,
Chief Executive Officer, Cyberview
6. Tuan Kamal Arifin A. Rahman,
Chief Retail Officer, Tenaga Nasional Berhad
Members of the media,
Ladies and gentlemen.
Salam Malaysia MADANI, and a very good morning to all of you.
1. It is a great pleasure for me to be here at this exciting groundbreaking ceremony of Vantage Data Centre’s new KUL2 campus. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Vantage for achieving this significant milestone.
2. Vantage’s decision to expand its presence in Malaysia is a testament to the company’s confidence in the nation’s digital capabilities, and future potential. I am thrilled that the KUL2 campus will open a new chapter in Vantage’s journey in Malaysia, and cement its position as a global leader in hyperscale data centers.
3. Southeast Asia, and Malaysia in particular, are attracting a growing influx of investments due to the region’s immense growth potential. Malaysia is an attractive destination due to our strategic location, favourable business environment, supportive government policies, and good connectivity, among others.
4. Malaysia, and the world, experienced the e-commerce boom at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and there has been no slowing down since. The shift towards working and studying remotely, accompanied by other forms of digital services, have resulted in data traffic and storage requirements.
5. As such, data centres have emerged as the backbone of the digital world. If we look at the growth in the data centre market in Malaysia, we see an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.92 percent from 2023 to 2029, presenting huge potential for expansion. This roaring demand is fueled by megatrends like cloud computing and AI innovations, positioning Malaysia’s digital economy for a new era of high-value growth centered around tech, data, and cloud-based technologies.
6. In recent years, Malaysia has welcomed numerous investment commitments from hyperscalers and operators to build their data centres here. Between 2021 and 2023, Malaysia approved a total of RM114.7 billion in investments for data centres and cloud services, as highlighted in Knight Frank Malaysia's First Half 2024 Real Estate Highlights report. This is a testament to Malaysia’s strength as a connectivity hub to serve the growing digital needs of the region.
7. Malaysia is wholly committed to accelerating its digitalisation agenda, and positioning itself as a leader in the digital economy, particularly in Southeast Asia, as the nation assumes the ASEAN chair next year. Robust and reliable digital infrastructure is recognised as a crucial component in this endeavour. A strong digital infrastructure, which supports data storage and global connectivity, will be a key enabler in economic growth and innovation.
8. One shining example of Malaysia’s efforts is the 5G network helmed by Digital Nasional Berhad, an agency under the Ministry of Digital. In just under 3 years since its inception, Malaysia has achieved an impressive 5G coverage of over 81.8% of populated areas, with over 14.8 million 5G subscriptions and an adoption
rate of 43.6%. By achieving widespread high-speed connectivity, Malaysia can ensure its digital infrastructure provides stable and fast connectivity nationwide, and globally. This lays the groundwork for modern data centres to establish a foothold in the country.
9. On the regulatory front, Malaysia is looking forward to the finalisation of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), which is forecast to unlock up to USD$2 Trillion in value for the ASEAN digital economy by 2030 through harmonised trade rules and collaboration with member nations – up from the current trajectory of USD$1 Trillion.
10. Just last week, the amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (Act 709) were passed in the Senate; paving the way for more protection of personal data and stiffer penalties for those who violate personal data protection principles. The amendments were drafted by the Department of Personal Data Protection, another department under the Ministry of Digital. The National Digital Department is currently drafting a national data sharing bill to be tabled year-end. This is to regulate data-sharing among government agencies. The government’s effort in building a more comprehensive regulatory environment is aligned to allow our digital economy to further expand and flourish.
Ladies and gentlemen.
11. This new campus will not only enhance Malaysia's digital infrastructure, but also provide the robust capabilities required to support the deployment of further cloud adoption and advanced AI technologies, in addition to the opportunities for entrepreneurship and job creation in Malaysia.
12. The demand for AI-powered solutions has been surging in recent years. Generative AI models and applications like ChatGPT have captivated global attention. Such tools demonstrate the immense potential of AI to augment human creativity and intelligence. This growing appetite for AI capabilities in fields like finance, health, logistics and science is driving data centre operators to provide the necessary computing power, storage, and cooling to run these resource-intensive workloads.
13. The new KUL2 campus is strategically positioned and designed to meet these needs. The new campus is expected to include 4 data centres when completed, making it one of the largest data centre campuses in Malaysia. Moreover, these new facilities are designed to be energy efficient and ready to meet emerging and evolving standards for building design. I am confident that the KUL2 campus can serve as a hub for AI-driven innovation that will propel Malaysia's digital economy to new heights and lead the way in efficient design.
14. This groundbreaking ceremony is a testament to the joint efforts of Malaysia and Vantage to solidify the nation’s role as a hub for larger hyperscale data centres. With Vantage’s first KUL1 campus already having a strong presence in Cyberjaya, this expansion symbolises Vantage Data Centers' commitment to being a long-term partner and contributor to the Malaysian digital economy.
15. Before I conclude, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Vantage for its commitment in Malaysia. It is truly an honour for me to witness this special moment which symbolises the strengthening partnership between our beloved nation and Vantage.
16. The Ministry looks forward to Vantage’s continued efforts and future endeavours in helping to drive our nation's digital economy forward.
Thank you, and I wish you all the best.
