ByteDance plans RM10bil investment in Malaysia for AI, says minister

As part of the deal, ByteDance will also expand its data centre facilities in Johor.

KUALA LUMPUR: China’s ByteDance, parent of social media app TikTok, plans to invest around RM10bil to set up an artificial intelligence (AI) hub in Malaysia, according to the country’s trade minister.

ByteDance Ltd is a Chinese Internet technology company headquartered in Haidian, Beijing. 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 Johor. This will be done through an additional RM1.5bil investment, Investment Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said.

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

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

Last month, Google said it was planning a US$2bil investment to develop its first data centre and Google Cloud region in Malaysia, while Microsoft said it would invest US$2.2bil to expand cloud and artificial intelligence services. — Reuters