Microsoft To Set Up US$1 Billion Data Centre In Malaysia
On 19 April 2021, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the US tech giant, Microsoft Corporation would invest a total of US$1 billion over the next five years to set up its data centre in Malaysia. A partnership with local government agencies and corporations, this marks Microsoft’s biggest investment in the Southeast Asian country of Malaysia. With guidance from your economics tutor Singapore in economics tuition Singapore, discuss the impact of this partnership on Malaysian economy.
Kuala Lumpur Wooing Tech Giants From US
The Malaysian government has been wooing tech giants such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon from the United States of America to invest in the country. In February 2021, it gave conditional approvals for these tech giants to partner its state telecommunications company, Telekom Malaysia to scale up the country’s data centres and provide cloud services. In discussion with your economics tutor Singapore in your economics tuition Singapore class, explain the significance of scaling up the country’s technical capabilities.
A “game changer” for Malaysia, the US$1 billion Microsoft data centre in Malaysia will serve the entire Southeast Asia region, with sufficient capacity to manage data from the various countries in the region. As part of the deal, Microsoft will also help Malaysians to upgrade their digital skills and local government and businesses to transform their operations in keeping abreast with the digital age. Covid-19 has brought about disruptions to businesses around the world. Economics Cafe Learning Centre, the best economics tuition Singapore centre has made its economics tuition Singapore classes available online since early 2020. Currently, students can choose to attend Mr Edmund Quek, its principal economics tutor Singapore’s economics tuition Singapore classes from the comfort of their homes or attend the economics tutor Singapore’s economics tuition Singapore classes at the economics tuition Singapore centre, which is within five minutes’ walk from the Bishan MRT Station.
68 Per Cent Plunge In FDI In 2020
Malaysia’s FDI (foreign direct investments) registered a drastic year on year decline of 68 per cent in 2020, amidst the deteriorating business environment in the country, partly due to escalating Covid-19 cases and unstable political environment. The split between Mahathir and Anwar, as well as the surprise nomination of Muhyiddin Yassin as the Prime Minister spelt political uncertainties for the country. Malaysia was also the country that saw the biggest decline in FDI amongst all Southeast Asian economies. In contrast, Singapore’s FDI fell by 37 per cent in 2020 from a year earlier. In consultation with your economics tutor Singapore in economics tuition Singapore, do a comparison analysis of Singapore and Malaysia in terms of economic performance and FDI.
In tandem with the plunge in FDI, Malaysia’s economy also contracted by 5.6 per cent in 2020, marking the country’s worst economic performance since the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998. To learn more about the Asian Financial Crisis, you may sign up for economics tuition Singapore with a reputable economics tutor Singapore. One of its primary targets is tech giants from the US, such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon, among others. The foreign direct investments in cloud service alone have been estimated to be between US$2.9 billion and US$3.6 billion in the next five years.
Like Malaysia, Singapore government has also been wooing tech giants around the world to set up their regional headquarters in Singapore. Currently, some 80 of the world’s top 100 tech firms have set up a sizeable presence in Singapore. They include, among others, fastest growing firms in the US and China, such as Zoom, Alibaba, ByteDance, Tencent and PayPal. Singapore is also home to promising tech firms such as Sea Group and Grab.
Linda Geng
Economics Tuition Singapore @ Economics Cafe
Principal Economics Tutor: Mr. Edmund Quek