ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is investing MYR10 billion ($2.13 billion) in developing AI in Malaysia and promoting the country’s advancements in the field. Additionally, MYR1.5 billion has been allocated for the company’s local data centre expansion.
Tengku Zafrul, the Malaysian minister of commerce, while confirming the investment said that the investment agreement involved a meeting with TikTok’s vice president Helena Lersch while she was in the nation. The discussion included “the development of TikTok in Malaysia,” according to Zafrul.
The investment follows hot on the heels of an earlier report that Google announced that it will invest $2 billion in Malaysia, with the majority of the funding going towards constructing the country’s first data centre and cloud region.
Zafrul explained that ByteDance wants to establish Malaysia as the “AI hub” of Southeast Asia by contributing a substantial investment of roughly MYR10 billion.
Newsng gathered that The tech giant’s growth plan calls for investing an additional $319.5 million to support Johor State’s current data centre facilities.
“This additional investment by ByteDance is expected to significantly contribute to Malaysia’s goal of expanding the digital economy to 22.6 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product by 2025,” Zafrul said.
Newsng understands that The investment has the potential to greatly increase employment locally, develop sophisticated technology skills among Malaysian people, and support economic expansion.
Furthermore, it may improve Malaysia’s digital environment, resulting in more innovation and an improved allure for international investment.
We earlier reported a bill that required ByteDance to sell TikTok within a year or face being banned was passed into law by President Biden.
Politicians are concerned that ByteDance may be forced by the Chinese government to manipulate algorithms to sway public opinion or spy on user data on TikTok.
