MDCC is 3 years old today, and we had just finished our 3rd Council Meeting for tonight for year of 2018! Malaysia Digital Chamber of Commerce had grown older and new members come, old member go - I would like to thank all the council members that work hard and putting their precious time to work together on the growth of MDCC throughout the years! Digital Economy had been very exciting industry and however it also brings a lot of joy! lots of tears and strength for a lot of people. After the old ministry regime, the new ministry new regime had given a lot of changes to the country. DFTZ and Digital Economy Roadmap now require to be adopt by the new government to continue to bring more continuous growth of the country's GDP and also enhancing the country's Digital transformation for the nation! Let's watch and let's look forward for the better future and brighter digital economy of Malaysia! There had been a new player in town as it had been the talk of the town - "Alibaba" group had arrived at bangsar south , Malaysia! Malaysia Digital Chambers of Commerce will go forward and adopting to the digital economy for all SMEs in Malaysia! This is just the beginning of the new Digital Economy and watch out for more to come in the near future.........more members and more opportunities!   President Of MDCC, Joshua Sew  

13 October 2018 Chris Daniel Wong President of Malaysia Digital Chamber of Commerce www.mdcc.org.my Increasing Productivity through Digital Disruption  On a recent trip attending an executive education programme at University of California Berkeley, it strikes me how much the retail world has changed owing to technology disruption. Many of my peers in the classroom had started embracing such disruption a few years back and to my surprised many of them are SMEs. As there are more mobile devices than people in the world today, we are staring at more than 50 billion connected Internet of Things devices by 2020. Smart cities, smart homes, autonomous vehicles, and cognitive computing are quickly becoming a reality. New business models built around smart devices, high-speed networks, cloud computing, and data analytics are rapidly emerging. One very good example is the evidence I experienced at the street of San Francisco where a new startup known as Café X using robotic arm to make coffee and serve coffee in a vending machine. We used to see vending machine around the street corner selling can soft drinks or hot coffee/tea and chocolate bar but now a revolutionary approach of robotic arm serving hot coffee in a vending machine in a middle of a busy intersection street. Traditional sources of advantage are rupturing, while new sources of value are forming. That is right, SMEs today needs to create new economy value to complement the brick and mortar business they have right now in response to the disruptive new economy led by IOTs. Generally startups that can singularly focus on new, disruptive opportunities, however, major established SME companies must walk a tightrope. SME must improve productivity in their legacy businesses and build growth businesses that take advantage of disruptions. The age we are living today is the clearest indication that we are no longer waiting for a digital revolution –but instead we are living it in real-time, with the pace quickening each year. Technological advances in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) are cascading across industries, causing wide-scale disruption. This disruption is delivering many new opportunities for organizations and industries, with companies cleverly investing in, and taking advantage of, innovation to increase the success and value of their businesses. A majority of CEOs I spoke to planned to increase their technology spending to help their companies achieve stronger fraud protection, expanded market share and increased sales. These technology investments are spread across four key areas among mid-market companies especially SMEs: big data and analytics, cloud computing, e-commerce and digital payment. These investments are mission-critical to businesses seeking to build a new digital value chain for tech-savvy customers.   A robotic café is seen making coffee on the street of San Francisco   When SMEs strategising for the future is deciding which technologies to invest in, it depends on the company’s goals. For greater efficiency, cloud services can enable huge cost savings and simplicity in just a few months. To reach customers in new markets, an online presence and expanded payment choices can accelerate e-commerce sales. SMEs companies should also consider innovations that can improve their products and services. For example, many manufacturers are switching to 3-D printing for costeffective prototypes and customized production. Healthcare firms are embracing wearables and genomics. And as blockchain technology develops, there will be new opportunities to increase security and efficiency. The next 12 months we will see more productive investment centered around artificial intelligence to virtual reality because the speed of disruption requires companies to put new technology to work quickly, making technology investment a priority on every CEOs’s agenda, and SMEs needs to embrace these challenges faster than usual. Many SMEs companies have a digital strategy in plan. But to pull off a true digital transformation, it's crucial to focus on culture and mindset. When thinking of digitisation at scale, there is a tendency to believe that technological capabilities are key enablers. However such myth is not true. Scaling up the success of disruption enablement on the overall business models in actual fact requires an investment in people and culture. That is moving from a few dozen talents in a digital center of excellence to building digital talent at scale and transforming the mindset and culture of their overall organizations. This need for strong leadership from the company. CEOs will have to team up with an operational digital leader with a robust vision, which allows them to “upset the status quo” during the implementation phase. If anyone want to better understand what digital disruption is doing to your business? Look to the underlying economics. To get your head around the new economics of the digital age, look to degrees of change in supply and demand and the disruptions resulted. As the productivity of economies appears to have flat-lined in the last few years in major economies and only a fraction of GDP growth in emerging economies, it is now time to look at digital disruption to catalyst growth for next decade. Besides SMEs, government is also a key driver in driving successful digital disruption. Successful implementation will encourage SMEs to take the bold step to venture into this territory because the traditional businesses still view this area as an expensive investment. Only when the government spend on infrastructure the trickling effect will be seen and felt at the value chain of SMEs establishment.  The other important key factor for driving productivity improvement includes improving government productivity that may help to spur private sector’s productivity especially in reducing public debt while results are improved in different policies where  the key enablement are; Governments must learn from each other; Technology will play a crucial role in improving the productivity of governments, Also improving the productivity of companies; Furthermore, new services or new ways of providing them may benefit from technology and hence, the government, like many other sectors and industries, can adapt to digital disruption complementing and leading the way for SMEs to adopt them on a wide scale. Chris can be connected thru chris@mdcc.org.my or at twitter account @chrisdanielwong.

5 November 2018   Chris Daniel Wong President of Malaysia Digital Chamber of Commerce www.mdcc.org.my   Reducing Environmental “Exhaust” Through New Digitally-Sustainable Business Models & Processes   Every business is now a digital business in one form or another. In the spirit of "making IT good for society" in the words of the British Computer Society, there's a tremendous opportunity for the technology community to make a difference. Such opportunity now extends well beyond IT to focus on using digital transformation to help all industries to meet their sustainability goals and reduce their carbon footprints.   While the concepts of IT and sustainable IT were originally focused on IT operations and the technology product lifecycle, the new call to action as companies undergo digital reinvention is for them to give environmental factors early consideration in their planning and to extend the scope of their sustainability improvements beyond IT operations and across many of their digitally transformed processes.   Digital transformation can make a large contribution in helping organizations, cities and nations better meet their sustainability goals including those laid out by the Paris Agreement on climate change when done correctly. It is an initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to well below 2°C. It’s estimated that information and communications technology (ICT) devices, such as ITenabled smart grids and buildings, have the potential to deliver a 20% reduction in global carbon emissions by 2030, and over $11 trillion in new economic benefits.   But if done incorrectly, digital transformation initiatives can often hinder rather than help the issue. For instance, I recently noticed a major grocery chain in Kuala Lumpur that, when implementing its new mobile app enabled grocery pickup service, has started to bag one item per plastic grocery bag. Not only does this practice far exceed its in-store use of plastic, considering the recent trend to ban plastic bags completely, this seems like a step in the wrong direction. In the age where single use plastics are being singled out as a major pollutant that by 2050 contributing to the oceans where it contain more plastic than fish by weight, this is clearly something that needs to be improved.   Digital transformation has the potential to decouple emissions and resource use from economic growth, yet significant barriers must first be addressed. Transitioning to a sustainable world encompasses three important areas such as the societal implications cross-industry theme, examining skills and employment, and trust and shared values. With increasing pressure on the world’s resources and an urgent need to cut emissions, digital transformation can help set the world’s economy on a sustainable footing.   What role can the digital transformation of industries play in meeting this challenge? Our analysis suggests that digital initiatives offer immense opportunity to help decarbonize the global economy. There is the potential to avoid an estimated 26 billion metric tons of net CO2 emissions from just three industries: electricity (15.8 billion metric tons avoided); logistics (9.9 billion) and automotive (540 million), from 2016 to 2025. This is almost equivalent to the CO2 emitted by all of Europe across that time period, or the United States more than five times over (based on 2013 data). By 2025, this would amount to 8.5% of global emissions.     However, a number of challenges will need to be addressed if the full potential of digital transformation is to be realized; some relating to the environmental impact of digital technology itself. For example, ewaste is growing, resulting in lost potential value from reusing or recycling devices, ever-growing mountains of landfill and increasing volumes of toxic chemicals being released into the environment. According to a United Nations study, 40 million metric tons of e-waste was discarded in 2014 of which 7 million metric tons alone were from the United States and 6 million from China. Data centers also contribute significantly to emissions due to their high power consumption and often inefficient cooling systems. Data centers currently consume 1.5 to 2% of global electricity, a rate that is growing at 12% a year. Consumption is projected to increase to 140 billion kilowatt-hours annually by 2020. That would be equivalent to the annual output of 50 power plants and create carbon emissions of nearly 150 million metric tons of carbon annually.   In addition to these industry collaborations, and new circular economy approaches, it will be vital to look at each of the emerging and enabling technologies within digital transformation initiatives to determine how they can be uniquely leveraged to unlock substantial improvements in sustainability.   Digital transformation is now primarily driven by technology that includes mobile applications, IoT parking sensors and powerful analytics. In addition, even blockchain technologies are being explored in the context of “virtual power plants” that enable energy-generating resources, including residential solar panels, to be connected to smart grids in a highly-distributed, efficient and transparent manner.   The challenge for companies and organizations is to build on the successes of their IT initiatives and to pursue similar improvements across their new digitally-based business models and processes. Much of this work involves close industry collaboration with suppliers and partners across the entire value chain, and the development of a circular economy whereby we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them while in use, and then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of their service life.  It’s now time to turn our attention to digital reinvention, think about how we can reduce our environmental “exhaust” through new digitally-sustainable business models and processes.   Chris can be connected thru chris@mdcc.org.my or at twitter account @chrisdanielwong.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has hit a great number of countries and turned out to be even worse than the critical economic, strategic and political clashes happening around the world. The coronavirus outbreak has and still is impacting all industries, including the information and communication technologies sector. Tech giants have halted operations, cancelled their participation in important events and conferences and announced financial objectives below expectations. As of March 8th, China has reported 80859 cases to the World Health Organization, including 3100 deaths. Outside China, there are now 24727 cases in 101 countries and 484 deaths. International events bear the consequences Even though China has been mostly affected by the disease, its spread to the whole world is compromising economies. The most chocking consequence of COVID-19 in the ICT industry was the cancellation of the Mobile World Congress which was supposed to be held in Barcelona on February 24-27. Technology and ICT firms anticipate the international show and plan to launch new services, products and solutions there to get the biggest exposure. It is also an important highlight of the mobile industry calendar because companies seize the gravity of the show to meet new clients and seal new deals and partnerships. In addition, the GSMA, in conjunction with the event host MTN GlobalConnect, decided to postpone the April 2020 WAS meeting in Cape Town to the same venue in March 2021. The Wholesale Agreements and Solutions Group (WAS) is responsible for operator-to-operator and operator-to-hub interoperability (including interworking and roaming) to provide GSMA members with a consistent, reliable GSM service for members to offer their customers. Another major ICT event was cancelled in Dubai, Capacity Middle East, which was due to commence on March 2. “This decision has not been taken lightly, but the health of our customers, partners and team is of paramount importance. We feel that as such an important event to the region, its postponement will allow the event to better serve its purpose,” a statement by Ros Irving, CEO of Capacity Media, read. WAS develops roaming and interconnect agreement templates and wholesale charging principles. Additionally, it supports GSMA programs and projects with the development of roaming and interconnect agreement templates, and wholesale charging principles that are unique to the needs of these efforts, as appropriate. Tech companies announce financial losses The cancellation of international events for fear of coronavirus translates into more direct and indirect financial losses to thousands of technology companies. In fact, most recently, Microsoft lowered its revenue estimates for the current quarter, saying it will feel the impact of the coronavirus epidemic with lower sales of Windows software and Surface devices. The US tech giant became the latest global firm to warn of a financial hit from the global outbreak of the disease which has killed thousands worldwide. “Although we see strong Windows demand in line with our expectations, the supply chain is returning to normal operations at a slower pace than anticipated,” Microsoft said in a statement. As a result, Microsoft said that in the current fiscal quarter its revenues will fall short of earlier forecasts, with Windows and Surface “more negatively impacted than previously anticipated.” Licensing Windows software to computer makers is a major source of revenue for Microsoft, meaning temporary closures or interruptions of production at factories run by partners can cobble its revenue. Surface tablet manufacturing can be directly impeded by such precautions. “As the conditions evolve, Microsoft will act to ensure the health and safety of our employees, customers and partners during this difficult period,” Microsoft said. “Microsoft also continues to make donations to relief and containment efforts, including directly providing technology to help hospitals and medical workers.” Apple had also said earlier that its revenue for the current quarter would be below forecast, and that worldwide iPhone supply “will be temporarily constrained” because of the global virus outbreak, notably in China, where Apple manufactures most of its devices. Apple, which depends on components from Chinese suppliers and has a big market in China, has been hammered on both fronts. China’s economy at risk The coronavirus will have a greater impact on China's ICT market, compared to the Chinese economy overall – an impact even bigger than the SARS virus outbreak in Asia in 2003. However, IDC predicts that the impact will gradually fade as of the second quarter of the year and will have a very limited impact on the full year. “The digital economy enabled by ICT accounted for 37.8% of the Chinese economy in 2019,” said Kitty Fok, managing director of IDC China, in a statement. “The macroeconomic disruption brought by the outbreak is expected to significantly affect China’s ICT market and drag it down by approximately 10% in the first quarter of 2020.” Of the 10% ICT decline in the first quarter, IDC said there would be at least a 30% fall for PC and smartphone sales, and a greater than 15% decline for server, network and storage sales. Artificial intelligence and big data would also be affected by the virus, but will “remain to grow” for the year. IDC said that emerging technologies, such as IoT and security, would experience “minimal declines.” Overall, IDC predicts a 5.5% growth rate for the China ICT market this year. Coronavirus, COVID-19 Tech giants lead the battle Even though the ICT sector has had its share of COVID-19, it’s been contributing the most in the fight against it. Since the spread of SARS in 2003, the viral disease prevention and elimination approach has changed tremendously. Technology nowadays plays the most important part. In the case of COVID-19, facial recognition is a key player. New temperature analysis systems have been installed in airports and metro stations to detect potential cases. In China, Megvii, which specializes in facial recognition technology, has created a detection system equipped with 16 classic and infrared cameras that can detect high temperatures at a range of three meters even if the person’s face is covered and is in a crowd. This system can scans 15 people per second and requires less surveillance teams, thus decreasing transmission risks. Chinese giant, Baidu, has also offered a similar detection system to measure people’s temperature with an error range of 0.05 °C thanks to infrared sensors and face recognition technology. In addition to the detection systems, China has deployed drones to fight coronavirus. Such drones are equipped with thermal cameras that detect people carrying the virus. Those drones regularly patrol the streets to constantly remind people to wear masks or to go home and wash their hands. They’re also used instead of specialized personnel to spray disinfecting products in public places, which reduce people getting exposed to potentially contaminated zones. Fake news fuel fear As the new coronavirus spreads globally, the online battle to keep misinformation about the disease is also stepping up. Google, Facebook and other platforms are struggling to keep ahead of scammers, trolls and others with ill intent that routinely use major tragedies or disasters as opportunities to swindle or manipulate people. Internet companies took part in a meeting with the World Health Organization at Facebook offices in Silicon Valley to discuss tactics such as promoting reliable information and fact-checking dubious claims about the coronavirus, referred to as COVID-19. “(We must) combat the spread of rumors and misinformation” WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “To that end, we have worked with Google to make sure people searching for information about coronavirus see WHO information at the top of their search results.” Google search ranks authoritative sources higher when people are seeking information on health and labels results or news stories that have been fact-checked. Ghebreyesus said that social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Tencent and TikTok have also taken steps to limit the spread of misinformation about coronavirus. Facebook said in a recent online post that it is focusing on claims which, if relied on, could increase the likelihood of someone getting sick or not getting proper treatment. “This includes claims related to false cures or prevention methods - like drinking bleach cures the coronavirus - or claims that create confusion about health resources that are available,” Facebook head of health, Kang-Xing Jin, said in the post. “We will also block or restrict hashtags used to spread misinformation on Instagram, and are conducting proactive sweeps to find and remove as much of this content as we can.” University of Washington biology professor Carl Bergstrom said some virus misinformation is “people trying to sell snake oil products” such as bogus cures or treatments, while others use attention-grabbing deceptions to drive online traffic that yields money from advertising. Misinformation is also spread by “actors” out to fuel distrust for the establishment in China or foment societal instability overall, according to Bergstrom. “There's appetite for up-to-date, real-time information,” said Jevin West, co-author of a book on misinformation with Bergstrom. “These actors can take advantage of that; things with crazier scenarios are more likely to be clicked on than the report from that doctor at WHO trying to calm down the fears.” Facebook said that when users seek information related to the virus, the social network will show educational pop-up boxes with information considered credible. Facebook is also giving free advertising credits to organizations running coronavirus education campaigns. Google-owned video sharing platform YouTube has been modifying policies and products for several years to remove harmful content and give priority to authoritative content deemed trustworthy. “We currently do not allow content promoting dangerous remedies or cures, like videos which claim that harmful substances or treatments can have health benefits,” YouTube said. Last year YouTube began providing links to reliable information along with videos on “subjects prone to misinformation,” and added coronavirus to that list. Social media giants have also beefed up ranks of fact-checkers, hiring outside parties such as AFP News Wire, to sort truth from fiction, even if there are questions on their effectiveness. A recent study published in the journal Science Advances suggested fact-checking did little to stem the tide of misinformation about other epidemics such as Zika, Ebola and yellow fever. The researchers said that “current approaches to combating misinformation and conspiracy theories about disease epidemics and outbreaks may be ineffective or even counterproductive,” and could even cause collateral damage by undermining trust in fact-based disease information. Bergstrom and West questioned whether social media giants optimized for virality could stem the tide of disinformation and deceit. “Social media company claiming it's an active participant in the fight against misinformation is like (tobacco maker) Philip Morris saying they're active participant in the fight against lung cancer,” Bergstrom said. Leveraging the crisis The world has never been more interconnected and this health crisis doesn’t affect China alone but the whole world. The ICT industry and many other sectors are already losing a lot of income opportunities and it’s still uncertain when will the situation be contained. However, the ICT industry is leveraging the situation and can actually compensate the direct losses in indirect ways. Leading companies having a presence in China are striving to continue with business as usual. Employees have been asked to work from home. Amidst the scenario, with organizations promoting working remotely, there is expected to be an exponential rise in video calls/phone calls, as an increasing number of people will be organizing client meetings and internal team briefings via apps or collaborations platforms. Sunil Kumar Verma, lead ICT analyst at GlobalData, commented, “The outbreak of coronavirus in China offers a unique opportunity for vendors offering communications and collaboration services. However, organizations need to continue to collaborate to remain productive.” GlobalData estimates the overall communications and collaboration spending in China to be approximately US$40.8bn in 2020. Of this, ‘services’ are estimated to account for 91%, whereas software/applications are forecast to account for 8%. This can significantly go up, depending on how long the outbreak continues. Verma continues, “The overall data traffic on the telco’s network is expected to surge exponentially, as companies will interact virtually with their counterparts in the outbreak affected regions. A large section of these people will be discussing on videochat apps or other productivity software/platforms like WeChat, Skype and Zoom.” “Despite the challenges of the outbreak, the current situation offers a mutually beneficial scenario for both the vendors as well as potential clients under a real-world use-case scenario, until the coronavirus outbreak is brought under control.” Source - https://www.telecomreview.com/index.php/articles/reports-and-coverage/3703-covid-19-consequences-and-opportunities-for-the-ict-sector  

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in In focus/Meituan, TechNode’s biweekly newsletter on the O2O services company. TechNode members get access to the most detailed coverage of the new tech giant available anywhere in English—sign up here to join. This article was co-authored by Nicole Jao. In recent weeks, our WeChat Moment newsfeeds have been heavy with posts about home-cooked meals. With much of China under lockdown, people have started devoting their free time to whipping up meals—prompted by boredom as much as necessity. Cookies, steamed buns, and pancakes have replaced restaurant takeout on Chinese tables. As a recent meme goes: After the quarantine began, everybody has suddenly become a great cook. Meituan, the country’s food-delivery giant, has been front and center for this development. The company’s data show that its sales from fresh produce—vegetables, seafood, and meats—jumped more than 200% year-on-year this month (as of February 20). Seafood sales topped the chart with a nearly fourfold surge. Meanwhile, the average order size has spiked 70% during this period. Meituan is a relative latecomer to the sector, having entered it three years ago. In an effort to broaden its revenues beyond its core business of restaurant order delivery, the company expanded its on-demand delivery service to groceries and non-food delivery in 2017. The service, which allows customers to order merchandise from partner retailers on the platform—such as supermarkets, bakeries, and flower shops—leverages Meituan’s delivery fleet, which now boasts 700,000 active couriers on a daily basis. In addition, the company also operates a grocery store chain, Ella Supermarket, a rival to Alibaba’s grocery chain Freshippo, as well as the self-operated grocery shopping business Meituan Maicai. Meituan has suffered some heavy blows from the Covid-19 outbreak since its staple businesses—restaurant food delivery, and online travel and ticketing—all have an offline business core. The company’s share prices dropped 15% to $12.60 on February 25 after reaching a historical high of $14.50 on January 17. Daily active users for the core takeout delivery business declined 4.2% year-on-year during the 2020 Spring Festival holiday, according to a report from data intelligence firm Quest Mobile. However, demand for groceries is opening up new opportunities for the company, which it began ramping up in January. Meituan has registered several produce and grocery trademarks since January, according to data from corporate intelligence platform Tianyancha. Online grocery delivery Meituan is not the only tech firm seeing a surge in demand for groceries. Compared with the period of January 2 to 8 (prior to the Lunar New Year holiday, which is when the outbreak began to spread in earnest), average daily usage for major grocery and fresh produce apps surged 56.2% during Spring Festival and 96.4% in the two weeks after the holiday (February 3 to 16), according to data from Quest Mobile. Over the past month, the self-isolation adopted by millions of Chinese citizens across the country has spawned innovation in the burgeoning sector of grocery delivery platforms, which had already been operating under various business models:

• Self-operated platforms use an asset-heavy approach, running self-built warehouses and logistics, enabling the platforms to offer a better customer experience. Meituan Maicai, which operates in first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai, is a self-operated platform. Dingdong Maicai, a top player in the vertical, nearly doubled its daily active users during the holiday, according to Quest Mobile data.
• Platforms such as Alibaba’s Freshippo (known as Hema), Meituan’s Ella Supermarket, JD’s 7Fresh, and Tencent-backed Super Species all employ the online + offline model. Part of China’s new retail push, this model focuses on offline experiences as well as speedy delivery to customers within a three- to four-mile radius.
• Grocery retailer marketplace platforms, including Meituan and rival Ele.me, operate a marketplace for offline vendors and offer delivery support. JD Daojia is another marketplace platform, a joint venture between JD.com and Dada Group. This model offers a wide range of offline options, and thus more flexibility for users; however, controlling product quality and standardizing prices can be a challenge. Ele.me claimed that its fresh produce delivery grew ninefold (in Chinese) compared with last year.
• Community-based group purchasing offers lower prices and only serves users within a certain geographical range. Usually managing their customers through WeChat groups, group-buying platforms like MMchong enjoy higher user stickiness resulting from the social element of group purchasing and users who may live in close proximity or are friends in real life.
• During the epidemic, offline seller WeChat groups have emerged. Many merchants housed in local wet markets are using group chats on WeChat to sell produce and meat. Instead of using grocery platforms which set the delivery price, such as Alibaba’s Ele.me and Meituan, they rely on independent drivers who charge by distance. Customers also score cheaper prices if they purchase in groups with these small sellers, who are usually located in their community.

From convenient service to lifeline With an entire country reluctant to go outdoors for fear of being infected, grocery deliveries are not just booming, they are overloaded. With her 4-year old son’s return to kindergarten postponed due to the epidemic, Shanghai housewife Deng Shuang would prefer to sleep in, but her top priority is making sure she can get groceries on time for meals. “It’s like Singles’ Day all over again. Instead of discounted products, I’m snapping up daily groceries,” she said. At midnight, the grocery platforms start accepting orders for the next day. Deng has to wake early to place her orders before all of the delivery slots are taken. “I have to check several platforms to buy popular products like pork since they can sell out very quickly.” According to Meituan data, during the Spring Festival holiday, 60% of its users placed grocery orders before noon. Their Shanghai users are one of the most active consumer segments, with some 30% placing orders between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. Yan Li, a Shandong native who now lives in Shanghai, became a regular user of several grocery apps after the outbreak. She sees herself continuing to buy groceries online once the Covid-19 crisis eases, but mainly as a complement to offline purchases. For Ding Ge, who lives in Qiqihar in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, buying groceries online is just a temporary thing. Grocery delivery platforms haven’t yet expanded to lower-tier cities, and fresh produce deliveries are a recent development. For users and merchants in smaller cities, online grocery purchases are more of a coping mechanism during the virus outbreak, with WeChat groups being the most popular channel. “I feel people here will switch back to offline wet markets as soon as the quarantine ends. For a RMB 139 vegetable combo delivered to the community gate, I have to pay an extra RMB 25 for the delivery cost and packing materials. That’s a large sum of extra spending, especially for small-town residents who are very price-sensitive,” Ding said. TechNode’s visual reporter Shi Jiayi, who has been restricted to her hometown of Zhangjiagang in east China’s Jiangsu province, has also spotted similar WeChat-based grocery delivery services in that city. Ups-and-downs of a “difficult industry” China’s grocery and fresh produce e-commerce industry has had a tumultuous past decade. It’s seen as a difficult sector due to the perishability of the goods and the significant logistical requirements, which weigh heavily on margins. However, the huge market and rising user demand continues to attract new players. The sector boomed in the early 2010s, culminating in multiple firms bowing out, including Amazon-backed Yummy77 and Xianpinhui. Starting in 2017, the onset of “new retail,” along with improved supply chain management and more savvy users, triggered another surge in fresh produce and grocery e-commerce. Major players in all sectors related to the business hopped on the trend, including tech giants like Alibaba, Meituan, JD.com, and Tencent, the courier service SF Express, and supermarket chains like Yonghui. However, many have stumbled in their efforts to gain traction in the offline fresh produce segment, which has proved an expensive endeavor due to logistics and traffic acquisition costs. In 2019, Meituan downsize its Ella Supermarket operations, although it ramped up investment in self-operating Meituan Maicai. Last year, SF Express shuttered its high-end grocery stores that operated under the SF Best brand in a number of major cities, including Shanghai and Xi’an. The most recent casualty of the sector is Dailuobo, which collapsed in December after burning through hundreds of millions of yuan. The countrywide lockdown has opened up an opportunity for e-commerce and social platforms, but keeping users in the long term may prove the bigger challenge. Source - https://technode.com/2020/02/27/covid-19-an-opportunity-for-e-commerce/

Covid-19 might have caused tourism to plunge, but it has paved the way for e-commerce to flourish as consumers switch to online channels to buy products and services and refrain from going to crowded spaces to avoid the virus risk. Thanawat Malabuppha, president of Thailand e-Commerce Association and CEO and co-founder of Priceza, a popular e-commerce hub in Thailand, said that sales of online products because of the outbreak had almost doubled especially in product groups related to protection against the virus. “The search for the keyword ‘sanitary face masks’ increased by 3,500 per cent in February 2020 compared to the same period in 2019,” he said. “Other products are also seeing improved sales as people tend to avoid going out to shopping centres and retail shops. Daily consumer products and healthcare-related products are among the groups that are having the highest sales through the e-commerce channel.” Meanwhile, Pinya Nittayakasetwat, CEO of GET application, has said that the food delivery business in Thailand in 2020 could grow by 31 per cent with total value of more than Bt1.8 billion. “In the past 12 months, GET app has seen more than 2.2 million downloads while over 40,000 delivery staff have joined our fleet,” he said. “The worries about PM2.5 air pollution and virus outbreak have significantly driven up the orders via GET application, while we continue to promote the trend by adding more discounts and promotions for delivery services to attract new users.” “The Covid-19 situation has also made food delivery operators more mindful of food safety and sanitation,” added Pinya “We have provided all delivery staff with hand gel and face masks, instructed them to take care of and monitor their health closely, as well as make sure that restaurants use sealed packaging for all food products to increase customer confidence in our services.”

World Bank says sectors affected are tourism, FDI, supply chains and commodities, which include palm oil and O&G

by NUR HANANI AZMAN / pic by BLOOMBERG

THE Covid-19 outbreak could cost the country’s economy RM5.9 billion this year and the figure could rise further if authorities around the world fail to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

The coronavirus, which originated from Wuhan, China, had already slowed manufacturing activities, grounded factory lines, disrupted supply chain and dented consumer spending in China and elsewhere.

The tourism sector had been hit the hardest. Fear of the virus had forced travellers, especially from China, to postpone their trips. Major airlines had cancelled or reduced flights to China.

Malaysia is still reeling from the US-China trade war which dragged the October-December period or fourth quarter of 2019’s (4Q19) growth to 3.6%, the lowest level in 10 years.

AmBank Group chief economist and head of research Dr Anthony Dass said using the estimated GDP forecast of 4.6% and minus 0.4% point, the drop is equivalent to RM5.9 billion.

“If we take the estimated GDP nominal value of about RM1,600 billion for the full-year 2020, a 0.4% drop will be around RM6.4 billion.

“Slower growth would affect business cashflows and orders. It will add pressure on retrenchment as more companies downsize,” he told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR).

World Bank said sectors which are impacted by Covid-19 in Malaysia are tourism, foreign direct investment (FDI), supply chains and commodities, which include palm oil and oil and gas (O&G).

In Malaysia, hotel room cancellations are mounting.

The Malaysian Association of Hotels said up to 157,000 room bookings valued at RM66 million had been cancelled. Most of the cancellations involved visitors from mainland China besides Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Europe.

Tourism-related industries like tour services and retailers have been hit as tourist arrivals drop significantly. Malaysia received 10.28 million visitors from Singapore and China in the first nine months of last year.

Putrajaya is targeting 10 million foreign visitors to the country this year with tourist receipts of RM100 billion or about 7% of the country’s GDP.

Malls and retailers are already reeling with a drastic drop in footfalls, including for the big-spending tourists. Manufacturers have also warned of raw material disruptions which will slow production and sales.

Malaysia’s exports to China, the former’s largest trading partner, could drop due to the latter’s sluggish economy.

The Malaysia-China bilateral trade reached a new 11-year high, estimated at US$124 billion (RM519.56 billion) or 17.2% of Malaysia’s total trade last year.

China had also become Malaysia’s largest export destination for the first time, with exports totalling RM139.61 billion. A 10% drop in exports would cost the country RM13.9 billion.

Singapore, Malaysia’s former biggest export destination, has warned of a possible recession this year after recording only a 0.7% growth last year. Malaysia’s GDP expanded 4.3% last year.

Dass also expects a slower 1Q growth and any measures introduced by the government should ensure the downside risks are stabilised.

But calculations of the GDP drop would be moderated by the stimulus and increases in the production of products like gloves.

OCBC Bank Malaysia Bhd recently said the Covid-19 outbreak may impact 0.4% of GDP in 1Q20.

The bank has also revised the GDP growth to 4% from 4.2% as a result of weaker than anticipated performance in 4Q19. OCBC expects the GDP to expand 3.5% in 1Q20.

Dass said based on the estimates that the 1Q20 GDP will be below the 3.6% reported in 4Q19, the outlook for 2Q20 will depend on how fast the Covid-19 outbreak can be resolved and the impact of the stimulus measures and Budget 2020.

“Assuming all these events turn positive, the 2Q20 growth should be better than 1Q20. Otherwise, the downside risk in 2Q20 remains high,” he said.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said he foresees growth coming in at around 3% to 3.5% in the first half of 2020 (1H20).

“This would mean the economy is operating below its potential level as there are unused resources (labour and capital) in the economy. As such, policy responses from the fiscal and monetary authority are warranted to ensure economic growth can be stabilised.

“I think the 1H20 GDP growth will be weak. At the moment, we don’t have any solid data to assess the immediate impact,” he said.

The global economic growth this year is expected to drop by 0.2% to 0.3%. The US 1Q growth could take between 0.2% and 0.4% hit as investors dread the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

The government is providing mask inventory data of pharmacies as an open API to help developers launch apps that notify civilians about the inventory statuses of pharmacy goods amid shortages from the COVID-19 outbreak. The South Korean government has released its mask sales data to the public by providing it as an open API to encourage developers to create apps that notify people about the inventory statuses of pharmacies nationwide. The government hopes that the opening up of data will help address the long queues at pharmacies and complaints that have arisen due to the shortage of masks caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Vice Minister Jang Seokyoung of the Ministry of Science and ICT told a press briefing Wednesday that the decision to open up the data was made as the government believes collaborating with the private sector would provide more efficient and innovative services that can better serve public demand, as compared to if the government were to develop these apps itself. Since Monday, the government has imposed onto citizens a two per week limit for masks purchased from pharmacies Around 23,000 pharmacies nationwide are selling masks and around 22,000 of these pharmacies have agreed to hand over their data. Information regarding the pharmacies that declined to hand over their data will not appear on the apps, Jang said. Around 10 app developers have used the data so far. They launched their apps on Wednesday, with more expected to follow, the minister added. Naver, South Korea's largest search portal, and Kakao, the country's largest chat app, are also planning to use the data to provide mask inventory services within their respective map apps. The outbreak has caused local tech giants such as Samsung and LG to suspend production and close down facilities due to employees contracting the virus. South Korea has 7,755 cases of the virus and 60 dead as of Wednesday. Source - https://www.zdnet.com/article/south-korea-launches-mask-inventory-apps-to-address-shortages-from-covid-19/  

We had seen over the last few weeks that the Malaysia Government took quite fair a bit of time to introduce the SME stimulus package. Well kudos that it has now been done after so much lobbying from the associations that represents the SME business community. One of last hurdle that many SMEs want to see is the enactment of Covid-19 Act, which is very similar to the one introduced by countries such as UK, Hungary and Singapore. Why do we need such an act? Simply it is to ensure that SME will not collapsed when they resume operation. By May or June when MCO is lifted, SME will need to make 2 choices, pay salary or pay rent? As matter of logic of course pay rent and reduce man power because logically there aren’t much business to do as consumer market is soft. With a high unemployment what does it tells you? Well we all know the academic answer.

30-second summary:

• Organizations must consider how the current crisis will also change long-term social interactions, events, personal contacts and what products and services will better serve them in the new post COVID-19 world.
• Many customer behavior changes will require new or modified products and services. New market leaders will emerge while some past leaders falter. Many companies will struggle post COVID-19.
• Smart companies will adopt a proactive approach to understand what changes will occur and be ready to adjust their products, services and strategies quickly to meet current and future customer needs.
• Despite this favorable impact for the likes of medical product manufacturers, gaining customer insights on need changes is critical to make this short-term success permanent.
• For lot of the others the question going forward is, when will their customers come back? But even more important and more under their control is, what will they need to deliver differently in terms of product or service features and benefits?
• Many believe that COVID-19 will affect more people and businesses directly and will have a more far reaching impact on businesses of all types than any crisis in the past half century.

COVID-19 is dramatically changing consumer and business behaviors today. Undoubtedly, many of those behaviors will remain long after the diminishment and defeat of the virus. New behaviors become permanent the longer they are in place. And in this case, one of the primary human emotions, FEAR propels and engrains the behavior changes. Organizations must consider how the current crisis will also change long-term social interactions, events, personal contacts and what products and services will better serve them in the new post COVID-19 world. Changes in customer behavior post COVID-19 are a certainty Many people will certainly have higher sensitivity to germs and the risks of spreading infections. This behavior alone will change many industries. Customers and workers will be more skeptical of close contact with others. Consumers travel, dining, entertainment and product preferences will be different tomorrow. The list of changed behaviors and their impact will surely be long, though still to be formed as COVID-19 runs its course. The number of behavior changes will grow depending on how many people are directly affected, how severely and for how long. Many new behaviors will be normalized as customers practice them repeatedly over months. How will behaviors shift in your industry? Many customer behavior changes will require new or modified products and services. New market leaders will emerge while some past leaders falter. Many companies will struggle post COVID-19. A proactive approach needed to survive COVID-19 Knowing your marketplace/customers/consumer needs is always the best way to meet market demands and win—but what you knew before may not serve you well in an altered tomorrow. Smart companies will adopt a proactive approach to understand what changes will occur and be ready to adjust their products, services and strategies quickly to meet current and future customer needs. Three important steps to take now: 1) Debrief Convene key members of your team and debrief them on what they have been hearing from customers. Having a work session to identify what might be changing and importantly, what you don’t know about the “changes” will set the stage for the next step. 2) Gather insight Develop a plan to “take the temperature” of the marketplace. How can we validate new behaviors we are seeing and hearing, and gather the information we don’t know? Don’t assume anything. Your customers can tell you what they will need, but you must ask them. In this time of rapid change, it’s critical to conduct customer interviews, surveys, market research or customer feedback by other means. Gather the comments, attitudes and data, then analyze. And please be objective, that is, be open to things you may have never thought would occur, and to how it can impact YOU! When interacting with customers during this difficult period, train your people to open conversations with, “How can we help you get through this?” not, “Here’s what we’ve got.” In other words, lead with empathy not competence. Try to be part of the solution to their crisis. 3) Re-plan You have your 2020 plans, but clearly COVID-19 requires forward thinking, new strategies and re-planning on many fronts. Armed with these new insights from the marketplace, re-plan and prioritize strategies and tactics in all critical areas. This could include Manufacturing/Operations, Sales, Marketing Communications, New Product Development/Innovation, Customer Service and other areas. Understanding what your customers will value in the post-COVID-19 business world and acting on it will ensure your survival and success and put you ahead of major competitors. This cannot be over-emphasized. Knowing the customer will sort the post-COVID-19 business winners from losers and also-rans. It’s also important to remember that customers buy VALUE, and value comes from meeting their needs, which comes from understanding their needs, in their words and actions. Focus on providing Value, and Revenue and Profit will take care of itself. Industry examples Positive impact of COVID-19 Makers of some key medical products are benefiting from the Coronavirus pandemic. For example, products that protect healthcare professionals and consumers from the risks of spreading infection. This includes thermometers, disposable gowns and gloves and masks, to mention a few. With significantly increased demand today, these manufacturers should be asking, is this temporary or permanent, how long will it last, and what needs will persist going forward? Despite this favorable impact, gaining customer insights on need changes is critical to make this short-term success permanent. Negative impact of COVID-19 Here, the list of industries is very long, and many will be transformed in a post-COVID-19 business world. Dining and hospitality, travel and entertainment, and related suppliers are just a few that have been essentially shuttered. The question going forward is, when will their customers come back? But even more important and more under their control is, what will they need to deliver differently in terms of product or service features and benefits? Historical post-COVID-19 business impact History provides validation that major changes will occur. Look back at 9/11 or even the financial crisis of 2009. The post 9/11 world brought us tighter airport security, the creation of the TSA and Homeland Security, and increased security at everything from sporting events and concerts to large office buildings in major cities. Behaviors changed, industries were changed and created, and they will be again. Many believe that COVID-19 will affect more people and businesses directly and will have a more far reaching impact on businesses of all types than any crisis in the past half century. Bottom line On the brighter side, remember that change creates opportunity. Business leaders who act now, communicate with customers and take a proactive approach to their changing markets will do much better than those who don’t. Source - https://www.clickz.com/three-steps-to-prepare-for-the-post-covid-19-business-world/261265/

The government will begin rolling out 5G technology infrastructure and services from the end of 2021, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said today. Speaking at the virtual launch of MyDigital and the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint, Muhyiddin announced that some RM15 billion will be invested in 5G implementation projects nationwide for the next 10 years. “With this, Malaysia will be one of the first few countries in the region to build a 5G ecosystem using the internet and cloud services in real-time, to enable immediate sharing of information,” he said. MORE TO COME

1.    First of all, let us express our gratitude to Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala because with His permission, we are here, virtually, together at this launching ceremony of MyDIGITAL and the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint this fine morning. Ladies and Gentlemen, 2.    The digital wave continues to affect the global community, reaching a scale that has never been achieved before and has completely changed the lifestyles of most communities all over the world. If we were to look back just five years ago, there were endless changes we can see in various and long-ranging aspects. Whether in terms of the way we interact with each other, the way we learn, doing business, and even the way we monitor our personal health, everything is very different and has changed with the touch of technology. Advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IOT) or big data analytics and blockchain; all of them have changed the patterns of the world’s economy and the way of life of modern society. 3.    The role of digital technology is evident, especially, since a year ago following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic which has led to tough, difficult challenges facing all countries to continue business as usual. It has never been clearer that technology is a convenient tool for advancement in the best of times, and an essential tool of survival during the most challenging of crises. 4.    The mastery of digital technology is also key for our country to overcome productivity limitations, hence, upgrading the Malaysian economy. The ability to seize opportunities emerging from innovative technologies and business models, plays an important role in driving new engines of the country's economic growth. Ladies and Gentlemen, 5.    The MyDIGITAL initiative aims to empower every Malaysian, from Perlis to Sabah, to improve their lives in all aspects. Among others, it includes ideas and plans to improve digital literacy, creates high-income jobs, makes banking and finance business easier and more organized, provides virtual educational access to our children and brings medical facilities to remote towns. 6.    It also serves as a digital transformation direction plan that is able to drive the business sector to compete on the global arena by enhancing expediency and efficiency of their operations. Ladies and Gentlemen, 7.    As a caring and responsive government, today, I would like to announce the MyDIGITAL initiative which includes the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint. This initiative will complement the national development policies such as the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP) and the Vision for Shared Prosperity 2030 (WKB 2030). 8.    MyDIGITAL sets out a combination of initiatives and targets across three phases of implementation until the year 2030; i)     By 2025, the digital economy is expected to contribute 22.6 percent to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). ii)     At the same time, the plan also aims to provide 500,000 job opportunities in the digital economy. iii)     The government also encourages 875,000 micro, small and medium enterprises to accept the use of e-commerce. iv)     In addition, these initiatives under the auspices of MyDIGITAL also serve as catalysts for 5,000 start-up companies to begin their operations in the next five years. v)     These initiatives will be the starting point to attract new investments worth RM70 billion in the digital sector, from within and outside the country. vi)     The government is also targeting for the level of productivity of the economic sector to increase by 30 percent higher than what that has been achieved today, by 2030. vii)     For the public sector, all agencies will provide cashless transaction facilities as the main option by 2022. Ladies and Gentlemen, 9.    To accelerate innovation and create an effective digital ecosystem, four important types of digital infrastructure under MyDIGITAL need to be built first. Development efforts will be jointly undertaken by the Government and the private sector where the latter will share in contributing towards capital fund and expertise; 10.    Firstly, a total of RM21 billion will be invested over the next five years through the National Digital Network (JENDELA) project to strengthen the existing connectivity. This fixed line optical fibre network will cover almost 100 per cent populated areas in stages - from 7.5 million premises by the end of 2022 to 9 million premises by the end of 2025. Based on this wider fibre optic network coverage, this country will be better prepared to switch to fifth generation cellular networking technology (“5G”) in the near future. 11.    Secondly, a total of RM1.65 billion will be invested by several telecommunication companies to strengthen connectivity to the international submarine cable network until the year 2023. This will open up more space for faster and more stable international data transfer, thus lowering internet costs to consumers in Malaysia. 12.    Thirdly, a total of RM15 billion will be invested over a period of ten years for the implementation of 5G nationwide. This will create approximately a total of 105,000 job opportunities. This effort will be carried out by a special purpose vehicle under the Malaysian Government. This entity will then be given the appropriate spectrum to own, implement and manage the 5G infrastructure. 13.    Insya-Allah, all licenced telecommunication companies will have equal access to these infrastructure, in marketing their 5G services to their customers. This infrastructure cost-sharing enables telecommunication companies to generate higher returns and, in turn, provide better and cheaper 5G services to consumers. This situation will boost the use of 5G, thus enhance economic capability in triggering more product and service innovations. 14.    So, by the end of this year, 5G technology will start to be enjoyed by the rakyat in stages. With this, Malaysia will emerge as one of the first countries in this region to build a 5G ecosystem using internet and cloud services in real-time to enable instant sharing of information. 15.    Just imagine - this 5G technology will serve as a game changer as more smart services with direct impact will be made available for the well-being of the people. This 5G technology not only promises better and faster internet access, but more importantly, it also enables various important applications to be in the hands of end-users, including health monitoring applications for chronic patients, smart emergency assistance, and special applications for senior citizens who are living alone. 16.    Fourth, between RM12 billion and RM15 billion will be invested by Cloud Service Provider (CSP) companies over the next five years. Here, I am pleased to announce that the government has so far given conditional approvals to four CSP companies - Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Telekom Malaysia - to build and manage hyper-scale data centres and cloud services. This hyper-scale data centres as well as hybrid cloud services will be created to increase data storage space, thus reducing operating costs and improving analytical efficiency. 17.    In addition, the government has also proposed the appointment of three local ICT companies as Manage Service Providers (MSP) to work with CSPs to manage their services to agencies in the public sector. This is in line with our intentions to strengthen the capabilities of local companies. The three companies are Enfrasys Solution Sdn. Bhd, Prestariang Systems Sdn. Bhd and Cloud Connect Sdn. Bhd. 18.    As part of the measures to empower cloud computing services in the public sector, the government, through its Cloud First strategy, has targeted the migration of 80 per cent of public data to hybrid cloud systems by the end of 2022. In addition, for a more effective and smooth data collection and management, this strategy also helps to reduce government costs in information technology management in the long run. All these Cloud services will allow Big Data, AI, IoT and other applications to be utilized to enhance and strengthen government services. Ladies and Gentlemen, 19.    The construction of this digital infrastructure forms the backbone for a sustainable digital ecosystem. This ecosystem serves as the key engine of growth towards sustainable economy. The government will continue to help strengthen this new ecosystem through various ways, including: i)     by creating a regulatory environment that can support digital use while protecting the privacy of citizens; ii)     by administering public data resources so that they can be jointly utilized by public and private organizations, and; iii)     by facilitating the evolution of labour market in potentially disruptive industries through automation and digital technology. 20.    Therefore, we will ensure that digital companies involved with the government, will work hard to help Malaysians improve on their digital skills. These companies, among others, will also collaborate with local universities to establish the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence, and to work with the government to carry out employees’ skills improvement programs. 21.    Cyber and data ?security are definitely among the government’s main focus in realizing the vision for a nation of digital technology. Public data will be handled sparingly based on security standards set by the government through the implementing agency, the National Cyber ??Security Agency (NACSA). Here I would like to assure you that the Government is very committed in monitoring the security of the data management system to avoid any future cyber threats. Ladies and Gentlemen, 22.    I would like to emphasize here that the MyDIGITAL initiative through the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint is a nationwide approach plan. In the face of future digital ecosystems, all stakeholders need to adapt as soon as possible to face whatever arising challenges in a connected nation. 23.    Finally, I hope all Malaysians will take full advantage of this digital technology and be bold enough to face the process of transition towards achieving digital economy. Although the public and private sectors may play distinctly different roles, we must remain consistent and in tune. I'm confident that a policy framework encompassing the formation of infrastructure, detailing all regulations as well as facilitating the formation of ecosystems, can determine the direction the country needed to realize this digital vision. 24.    With Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, I hereby launch the MyDIGITAL initiative and the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint. Thank you. Read more here.

Guaranteed compensation and good customer service are in very rare supply these days, especially in sea freight. However, Cainiao, Alibaba’s logistics arm, has pledged cheaper, more reliable shipping services to its customers – and promised to compensate them for delays. Cainiao today launched a shipment booking service, for air and sea, covering 200 ports in 50 countries and said the service encompassed container bookings and end-to-end logistics management. It claimed its cross-border port-to-port shipping fee would be 30-40% lower than the average market rate, although it was unable to tell The Loadstar before publication how this would be achieved. Container bookings will be confirmed within two working days after an order by an Alibaba merchant, which, claimed Cainiao, was far better than the industry average of a week to a month. If the booking confirmation is delayed, merchants will receive compensation of up to Rmb100 ($15) per order. If cargo misses its departure time owing to Cainiao or its partners, merchants will receive compensation of Rmb1,000 ($150) per container for sea freight, or 20% of the international shipping fee, whichever is higher, or 50% of a near-sea freight shipping fee. Air freight customers will receive 10% of the shipping fee. “In the face of the current global container shortage and surging shipping prices, Cainiao is committed to leveraging its technology and logistics ecosystem to provide a one-stop port-to-port shipping solution for exporters and importers,” said James Zhao, general manager of Cainiao Global Supply Chain “By working closely with airlines and cargo companies, we aim to safeguard the entire cross-border line haul network and instill greater stability into sea and air freight shipping.” Cainiao, which means ‘rookie’ or ‘beginner’, sees itself as a “newcomer to the logistics scene, on a constant quest to improve our service”. The global container shortage, driven by delays, has seen freight rates soar, impacting export and import businesses. Average container turnaround times have increased to 100 days, up from 60, according to the China Container Industry Association, with European and US ports struggling to handle inbound goods and delaying outbound container movements. Last month, Cainaio launched an open tender for $76.4m-worth of logistics services in all key markets, divided into B2C and B2B services, as it looked to expand its network of 3PL partners. There has been no news yet on the outcome of the tender, which closed on 15 December. The network also added a reverse logistics channel last month for Hong Kong customers, with 85% of goods on Alibaba platforms eligible for returns within seven days. There are plans to launch a similar service in other key markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Macau and Russia.

The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) expects investor confidence to get a boost as Malaysia accelerates its digital economy agenda with the recent announcement of the national digital economy blueprint MyDigital. Based on the Department of Statistics Malaysia report, the digital economy’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) for 2019 stood at 19.1% or RM289.2bil. It is projected to hit 20% in 2020. “Amid the Covid-19 pandemic which disrupted foreign direct investment (FDI) globally, we continue to build strong investment momentum in our digital tech industry, ” said MDEC investment and brand senior vice president Raymond Siva. “We are seeing good investment momentum in the MSC Malaysia. To date, MDEC has recorded RM345bil in digital investments, creating close to 185,000 jobs. This includes significant investments from multinationals that have established their global business services and regional operations here in Malaysia, ” he said. In 2020 alone, new investments by pure-play technology companies stood at RM3.98bil, while new investments recorded by digital services companies came in at RM2.01bil. These investments created over 9,000 new jobs. Global tech firms which have operations in Malaysia such as NTT, Hitachi Sunway Information Systems, transcosmos and DKSH CSSC continue to show confidence by re-investing in Malaysia. MDEC has also attracted many leading digital companies to set up their regional presence in Malaysia. These include PCCW Solutions (a leading IT services provider in Hong Kong, mainland China and South-East Asia), ThunderSoft (Beijing-headquartered) and Clarivate (a global leader in providing solutions to accelerate the lifecycle of innovation). Siva said this is a testament to Malaysia’s solid fundamentals and ability to meet investor requirements such as having a diversified, multilingual and digitally-skilled talent pool; a vibrant ecosystem of start-ups and mature digital tech companies and ready infrastructure. The above unique propositions have caused Malaysia to be ranked 2nd in Asean and 26th globally in the recent IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2020. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has also ranked Malaysia 34th out of the top 40 countries in its Network Readiness Report 2020. In addition, The World Bank Digital Adoption Index 2020 noted how Malaysia outperformed its peers in East Asia and the Pacific regions for digital adoption capabilities. MDEC leading the digital economy forward The digital economy is expected to continue its significant contribution to the country in 2021 based on an estimated 20% contribution to GDP in 2020 by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, on the back of a 6.7% economic growth forecast this year by the World Bank. MDEC, with the full support from the Communications and Multimedia Malaysia Ministry, will continue to lead the digital economy forward, centred on ensuring shared prosperity for the many and towards the realisation of Malaysia 5.0. The focus will be on the three strategic thrusts – empowering digitally skilled Malaysians, accelerating digitally-powered businesses, and attracting digital investments. “Additionally, through our Global Testbed Initiative, we welcome companies to test-bed next-gen technologies for rapid expansion into the region. Our Malaysia Digital Hub initiative is also an ideal launchpad for start-ups to grow and scale, ” said Siva. With the launch of MyDigital, Siva emphasised that these initiatives will be intensified. “We have to reinvent our approach to attract more investments in the emerging digital technology sector for the country to remain competitive, maintain its position in the global supply chain ecosystem, as well as enable increased demand for new, high-skilled digital jobs.” Attractive incentives in digital investments Echoing similar sentiments, EY Asia-Pacific tax leader Yeo Eng Ping said that Malaysia provides a solid base for high value-added technology-related activities, such as centres of excellence for high-value technology innovation, research and development (R&D), digital activities, for example, Big Data Analytics (BDA), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics, as well as space and designated locations for the testing of technologies such as drones and driverless vehicles. “With Malaysia’s strong footing in the manufacturing sector, there should be many opportunities for digital companies to develop, test and/or market 4IR and other manufacturing solutions, both locally and abroad.” “Malaysia offers a comprehensive set of incentives to encourage investments in digital technology and services. “The MSC status provides attractive tax and non-tax incentives. Under the current tax incentive framework, income tax exemption for a period of five years (with a potential five-year extension) is given to MSC-status companies carrying out approved promoted activities in areas such as BDA, AI, Fintech and Internet of Things, ” she said. Other than business-friendly policies, Malaysia’s tax regime is also attractive to companies as they start commercialising their digital creations and seek additional sources of funding and investment. For example, Malaysia does not tax dividend income or capital gains on disposal of equity investments. There are also incentives offered to venture capital companies to help encourage investments in companies in Malaysia. Additionally, Malaysia has liberalised its exchange controls, creating a conducive foreign exchange administration climate for foreign investors and the movements of funds for business purposes. The Government’s continued efforts to enable high-tech and innovation-driven small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) affected by Covid-19 to recover and revitalise the nation’s innovation capacity are also commendable and reflective of its support for technology and innovation. The Government’s support in this regard will be provided via Bank Negara Malaysia’s RM1bil High Tech Facility – National Investment Aspirations (HTF-NIA). Under this facility, eligible SMEs can obtain financing of up to RM5mil, for a tenure of up to seven years. Malaysia continues to attract tech investors through ‘Land and Expand’ strategy MDEC celebrates its Silver Jubilee this year, commemorating 25 years of leading the digital economy for the nation. “MDEC was the original start-up when the word was not yet used. We will continue to build on the positive momentum to land quality and targeted digital businesses and investments into Malaysia and assist them to expand their market access, ” Siva added. As the leading specialist digital investment promotion agency (IPA) in Malaysia, MDEC will continue to collaborate closely with other ministries, IPAs and industry leaders in Malaysia to facilitate the entry and expansion of global digital and tech companies and firmly establish Malaysia as the Heart of Digital Asean.

For several years now, eCommerce has seen slow and steady growth across Southeast Asia. But what the pandemic did last year was to catapult the growth so that eCommerce went from being an experiment for some brands to a necessity for most. Today’s eCommerce platforms such as Shopee are fast becoming the platforms of choice when it comes to product search, whereas traditionally the crown would be worn by the likes of Google, said panellists at the recent Shopee Brands Summit held on 25 January 2021 at Andaz Hotel.  Hence brands need to rethink their omnichannel strategies to be where the consumers are. This article is written by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE in collaboration with Shopee. eCommerce is not just another sales channel Adding on to the conversation around eCommerce platforms now becoming a vital part of the marketing ecosystem was Alexandra Vogler, senior director, e-business, Asia, Middle East and Africa, Procter and Gamble, who said that today, P&G is rethinking and relabelling “eCommerce” as “eBusiness” as it sees the area as one where sales, marketing and supply chain all come together in a “unique confluence”. “We need to rethink the model. One of the areas we are focusing on is in trying to sustainably win consumers’ hearts, minds and wallets,” she said. “We don’t think of eCommerce as a segregated channel, but rather an all-in-one business channel,” Vogler explained.  She added that while it is easy to think of eCommerce as a transaction-based platform, having the right strategy goes a long way in building presence in the minds of consumers, aiding in overall brand building. Explaining further, she added that eCommerce platforms such as Shopee are able to help companies such as P&G win the “hearts” of consumers by providing marketing tools and solutions for advertising messages and hyperlocalised campaigns that resonate with audiences. Marketplaces also allow for brands to win minds by driving “superior products'' using tools such as live streaming for product demonstrations, and have two-way communications with the audience to deepen engagement. When it comes to wallets, this is where targeting tools, mega shopping festivals and always-on promotions give the added push to drive conversions. At the summit’s opening, Chris Feng, CEO of Shopee, said: “Shopee Mall is an integral part of our business, and we have a strong track record of helping brands to transit, grow and succeed online.” Today, Shopee Mall, the platform’s dedicated space for more than 20,000 international and local brands, has seen a four-fold increase from when it was first launched in 2017. As opportunities in Southeast Asia’s digital economy continue to flourish, Feng said the team remains “committed to strengthening support for brands to boost their online presence, drive sales and serve consumers better”. In fact, seeing the success of its previous mega shopping events, Shopee, for one, said it would be scaling up on these in the new year launching 4.4 campaign, the biggest for it in the first half of the year, to boost its partner brands’ online visibility and capture new consumers. Another benefit of having a well thought out eBusiness strategy is the ability to listen to the consumer as brands are always aware of which phase of the journey the consumer is at. This then allows them to tailor their messages. “That’s what we call agile marketing: understanding where our customers are, and leveraging the unique ability to test and learn,” she said, explaining that on eCommerce platforms you can put multiple pieces of content to see what best works for your audience, allowing for AB testing. Combining the offline and online experience While Unilever has also seen an acceleration of its eCommerce business in Southeast Asia over the past year, Rohit Bhasin, global brand VP of POND’S, explained this is still much smaller as a channel compared with China, where eCommerce makes up 65% of its revenue. But the shift is happening. When asked what he thought the future of retail would be, he questioned the existence of offline channels in the future. He added that today, retail is largely experiential and if eCommerce platforms are able to replicate a more experiential feel, in a world where travel has been curbed, the need for retail spaces would be minimal. For example, POND’S integrated its Skin Advisor Live AI-driven chatbot exclusively on Shopee as part of its campaign last year, to help consumers get personalised skincare advice like they would experience offline when visiting a beauty counter or store. Ng Tian Chong, managing director, Greater Asia, HP added that while in the past brick and mortar stores were great at providing the touch-and-feel element to consumers for large purchases above a certain threshold (say for example SG$1000), today the likes of Shopee Live are fast filling this space with live-streaming and interaction capabilities. “When we [executed a campaign using Shopee Live] in Singapore, we saw our followers increase three to four times for that campaign,” Ng said. Through its upgraded capabilities, Shopee Live has now morphed to allow consumers to speak directly to experts. Along with co-streaming capabilities, Shopee Live also allows brands to engage and reward consumers through initiatives such as lucky draws amongst others. The new features also allow brands to invite viewers to join the stream, opening up room for creative ways to engage customers and introduce products. Brands can also co-stream with KOLs and brand ambassadors to enrich the content and bring a new level of consumer-seller interaction on Shopee Live. Ng added that eCommerce is now a big priority for the brand as it looks to be where its customers are, with omni-channel as a strategy now a priority. “We spent quite some time to evolve HP which in the past was very channel-centric. Today a lot of our resources go into bringing our [offline] partners online to help drive traffic to marketplaces,” he added. Moreover, consumers today want information supplemented with entertainment and this change in habit cuts across many demographics, Nicholas Lee, Philips’ personal health leader for ASEAN Pacific said. He explained that live streaming for the Philips brand has opened doors beyond its tier one cities.  “People are seeing the rise of online shopping [festivals] as forms of entertainment and live shopping is taking TV home shopping into a new format. Consumers are drawn to it because seeing is believing,” Lee said. Philips, which saw its strategic road map “positively” accelerated in 2020 as eCommerce sales spiked, also found that its customers were turning to marketplaces such as Shopee because the platforms earned the trust of consumers as “a safe place to shop”. Meanwhile, to ensure that the instant gratification factor retail provides is also met online, Shopee said this year it  will provide brands with an extensive range of warehouse and fulfilment support, allowing it to fulfil orders quickly and reliably all year round. This, it says, will help translate to a more seamless shopping experience for consumers, and in turn, increased consumer satisfaction and likelihood of repurchase. How should eCommerce marketplaces position themselves to aid brand partners? Over the years, eCommerce marketplaces such as Shopee have also been upping their marketing tools and offerings to keep in line with the changing customer demands. Orders on Shopee Mall have grown by 10 times since launch, indicative of a growing consumer demand. Similarly, the ongoing impact of the pandemic on retail traffic has also driven more brands to expand their online businesses, with the number of official stores on Shopee Mall doubling in the past year. Shopee also announced the launch of several new initiatives that aim to help top performing brands maximise their online growth potential. To help fast-moving consumer (FMCG) brands capture a growing segment of online grocery shoppers, Shopee will be ramping up on Shopee Mart, a one-stop shop that allows consumers to conveniently purchase a wide variety of groceries and personal care products. Meanwhile, last October Shopee also officially launched Shopee Premium and is now set on adding more new premium brands and products, as well as further differentiating the premium experience to help brands acquire more new consumers. These new assets will also be complemented with the Brand Membership programme for brands to increase consumer retention by rewarding shoppers with loyalty points when they shop from brands’ official stores on Shopee Mall. This encourages more frequent purchases and deepens brands’ understanding of their consumers’ purchasing habits and preferences. Another new initiative was its Regional Champion Brands Programme, which is a by-invite only programme comprising 17 brands (Abbott, Adidas, Amorepacific, Danone, HP, Huawei, Kimberly-Clark, L’Oreal, Nestle, OPPO, Procter and Gamble, Philips, Realme, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever, Vivo and Xiaomi), who will receive priority support from Shopee in the areas of marketing, innovation and insights. These brands will receive exclusive access to Shopee’s campaigns and new feature launches, as well as dedicated support to further grow their business. Adding on to its roster of initiatives, Shopee is also launching the “100 Million Dollar Club”, which challenges brands to achieve US$100 million in gross merchandise value within the year. The first 10 brands to unlock this milestone will be rewarded with special perks, including privileged access to exclusive business insights, increased campaign exposure, media support, and more.

Executives from some of the country’s biggest start-ups have welcomed Putrajaya’s recently-launched digital economy blueprint but with reservations about its goals and the timeline set to achieve them. While the 10-year MyDigital plan will put the government on track to spur the high potential sector, they said the initiative appeared convoluted and lacked vigour in terms of what it sets out to achieve. One of the underpinning criticisms was the programme’s timeline. Jes Min Lua, founder of Recommend.my, the popular smartphone platform that provides property services like cleaning and moving, described it as “crawling towards the moon”, citing among others the lengthy period set just to review policies and laws. “The first two years of Phase 1 (2021 and 2022) are mostly ‘reviewing policies and laws’ and ‘appointment of CDOs’ and ‘creating circulars’ and laying the foundation, where really it shouldn’t take two to three years to define these things,” she told Malay Mail, referring to chief digital officers. The government said the plan’s initial stage will mostly focus on reviewing regulations and putting in place the right policies that will lay the bricks to pave the way more crucial aspects of the plan to be carried out in the next two phases. The next phase will be dedicated to digitisation and widening connectivity. Among its key targets is the digitisation of up to 800,000 small and medium enterprises and schools. Observers said while the target may be laudable, it seemed far-fetched since the effort would require massive resources. “The targets are crazily hard to achieve or even measure ‘800,000 SMEs adopt digitalisation’, ‘each school student to have access to a digital device’, ‘all schools to be digitised’ and ‘all gig workers participate in GigUp’. “How are we going to implement that so quickly, and how are we going to pay for all this?” she asked. Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said at the launch of MyDigital and the Digital Economy Blueprint that up to RM56 billion will be “invested” into the initiative by both the public and private sectors. Half of it will be spent on bolstering infrastructures to widen connectivity and boost internet speed, crucial if the country is to see 5G network usable by the mid decade. Minister in the Prime Minister Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Muhammed said MyDigital will be the core thrust to make Malaysia a regional e-commerce powerhouse as well as a tech hub, with a target to nurture 5,000 startups and up to five “unicorn” companies. In finance, the term unicorn is used for privately held companies with a valuation of more than US$1 billion (RM4.2 billion). But these companies are rare with less than a thousand of them exist worldwide. Data from CB Insights, a company that tracks startups, showed only one out of ten companies have achieved unicorn status in the last decade, indicating a high chance of failure. This fact has prompted local scepticism about MyDigital and the blueprint’s goals. Among the reasons cited are the country’s lack of focus on which market or areas it wants to excel in, and talent scarcity. Muhyiddin said the government wants to nurture and develop up to 5,000 startups and 5 unicorns by the third phase. “I think Malaysia really needs to figure out what we are especially good at, what are our differentiators as a nation, and where we will focus on to be a digital nation,” said Lua. “We can’t afford to spray and pray, because we don’t have so much national reserves and honestly, we don’t have so much talent with the safety net to start startups. We need to define the focus, find a way to filter the best-quality startups with the largest economic multiplier and put funding and support them.” Other industry players felt the blueprint should be more aggressive even as they noted the government’s commitment to help the sector boom. Aaron Sarma, a former head of digital development at the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation’s (MDEC), a government set-up entity that played an integral role in formulating MyDigital and the blueprint, said the initiative appeared to be aiming low, citing its productivity and connectivity targets. “The blueprint states that it’ll take five years to have 100 household internet connectivity but we are already at 90.1 per cent today,” Sarma, now the general partner and co-founder at ScaleUp Malaysia said at the interview with the Malay Mail. “Then they want the digital economy’s GDP contribution to account for 22.6 percent by 2025. But it was already 19.1 per cent in 2019... I think we have to do better,” he added, using the initials for gross domestic product. Sarma also pointed to concerns about red tape potentially slowing progress. There are six key areas of focus in the blueprint talent — developing talent, infrastructure, emerging technology, economy, society, and governance — with each cluster to be headed by six respective ministries and dozens more of government agencies. “This is a big deal because the leader of the nation itself, the prime minister, is leading the direction of the digital economy, which shows how important this agenda is for the nation and how the digital economy is and it should be,” he said. “But there are just too many people and agencies involved. Too bloated. I’m worried that it would make them less agile and move slowly to hinder progress.” This has also raised concerns that private sector involvement would take a backseat even as their roles were outlined for each cluster, the former MDEC director noted. “Through the efforts of governments past and present we now have successful entrepreneurs and businesses in the digital economy. There are ecosystem builders. There is talent in the market,” he said in a letter published on Digital News Asia. “The government does not have to do this alone anymore. In the next 18 months, the public sector, in partnership with the private sector and academia can make a huge impact.”

The unveiling of the Strategic Programme to Empower the People and Economy (Pemerkasa) by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently demonstrates the government’s continuous commitment to strengthening the economic recovery efforts and subsequently, turbo-charging the economic growth.

Some of the initiatives in the sixth stimulus package will propel Malaysia’s preparedness to adapt to the post-pandemic economy that will see automation and digital economy taking centre stage and potentially, resulting in a broader recovery led by enhanced productivity and technological innovation.

The focus on automation and digitisation initiatives under IR4.0 would certainly encourage local companies to immediately step up their investment in automation in order to remain cost-competitive and innovative, a strategic imperative for businesses to survive and thrive in this new post-Covid economy.

Last year, the World Economic Forum published a report revealing the rise of machines and automation that would eliminate 85 million jobs by 2025, but at the same time, it expects to create 97 million new jobs.

Herein lies the need for upskilling of the local workforce to ensure they are sufficiently equipped. With focus on job creation, efforts towards rationalising automation and digitalisation — to help businesses make effective use of resources and importantly equip their manpower with capability to improve productivity, technology deployment and importantly speed — is a critical progressive move forward, to not only achieve cost competitiveness, but also ensure the current workforce remains relevant in targeted highly skilled and higher-income job segments, in line with the country’s move towards a high-income economy.

Even before the pandemic, VentureTECH Sdn Bhd has been actively promoting the deployment of IR4.0, particularly automation and digitisation, among its portfolio companies in the high value-added and emerging industries, and has also invested in remote sensing, communications, automation and robotics in areas such as smart energy, smart manufacturing and mobility, and other manufacturing-based and agro-based subsectors.

During this pandemic period, VentureTECH has also reached out to other government agencies, such as Malaysian Investment Development Authority, Malaysia External Trade Development Corp and The Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit, and also financial institutions to consolidate efforts and initiatives in helping these local companies sustain and grow.

Our portfolios of Bumiputeras and local companies made up of technology leaders in their respective fields are not excluded from the adverse effects of the pandemic.

However, moving into the recovery phase, we are confident that they will bounce back faster and stronger, riding on new technology applications and innovation of IR4.0, that will now be advanced by the Pemerkasa programme.

As the government encourages local small and medium enterprises to boost their automation by providing loans and incentives to finance the purchase of machinery equipment, VentureTECH’s investee companies with automation and robotics, and the Internet of Things solutions are very well-positioned to be leading providers in this segment, benefitting from the market demand and trend; in addition to the investees operating within the healthcare sector that have already profited from the outbreak since it first started a year ago.

In the first imposition of the movement restriction order, VentureTECH has extended various supports to all of its investee companies through its own initiated recovery measures — complementing the government’s initiatives, with an aim to ease the financial burdens of its investees — of which include automatic one-year moratorium, interest-free shareholder advance and focused value creation efforts.

To chart the country’s economy on a stronger and more competitive pathway via the 12th Malaysia Plan, this “favourable recession” phase is critical as the economy is experiencing productivity-enhancing transformation, and that companies offering the most current and competitive technology solutions will be at a vantage point as the economy improves.

As an impact equity investor targeting socioeconomic outcomes, it is our hope for our investment activities in the current situation to continue to generate highly skilled employment, promote innovation and encourage strategic collaborations and business synergies via our investees.

We plan to continue to empower Bumiputera’s economy and socio-economic development by strengthening internal technological and operational competence, while identifying new business opportunities during this recovery period of the pandemic.

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Press Conference Co-Hosted by MDCC in response to the economic suicidal statement by DG of Health ‘70% vaccination coverage before Interstate and Interdisctrict is Lifted’

262 Business Associations/Chambers of Commerce representing 950,000 businesses

—Date : 1st March 2021

—Time : 3.30 PM

—Venue : Foodtree/Jungle GYM 4th Floor,

—Bangsar Shopping Centre, Kuala Lumpur

Dato Abdul Malik Abdullah gave the opening speech for the press conference

In response to the economic suicidal statement by DG of Health ‘70% vaccination coverage before Interstate and Interdisctrict is Lifted’

[caption id="attachment_36217" align="aligncenter" width="424"] A description from Dato Wira Ameer(Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd) experienced by the hypermarket during the extended MCO[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_36218" align="aligncenter" width="424"] Theme parks are one of the sectors severely affected during a MCO Tan Sri Richard Koh (Only World Group Holdings Bhd)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_36219" align="aligncenter" width="947"] Media representatives and journalists present[/caption] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Press Conference Co-Hosted by MDCC #BankerWithBigHeart CAMPAIGN LAUNCH BY MALAYSIA DIGITAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (MDCC) and BUSINESS SURVIVAL GROUP (BSG)

Myth: Banks LOST RM 6.4 BILLION in 2020 because of moratorium Fact: Banks made a PROFIT of RM 31.15 BILLION in 2020

—Date : 8th  March 2021

—Time : 3.00 PM

—Venue : Foodtree/Jungle GYM 4th Floor,

—Bangsar Shopping Centre, Kuala Lumpur

  [caption id="attachment_36224" align="aligncenter" width="856"] Datuk Dr AT Kumararajah repsenting Business Survival Group[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_36225" align="aligncenter" width="470"] Giving speeches and comments on the profit margins earned by the  banks Mr. Chris Daniel Wong (President of MDCC)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_36228" align="aligncenter" width="947"] Mr. Raymond Woo representative of the Business Survival Group[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_36229" align="aligncenter" width="947"] Group picture of the Business Surival Group[/caption] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][button type="rd_3dstroke_bt" animation="rda_fadeInUp" url="https://cdn.digitalsme.cloud/profile/d94b8392-b677-4d23-af4e-fc49b71b116d/platform/2a502387-1788-4284-96bb-a38c61b0da6b/2021/04/Press-Release_8th-March-2021-at-3pm_BSG.pdf" target="yes" position="ta_center"]Press Release[/button][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Co-Hosted By MDCC Town Hall Meeting

President; Chairman and Representatives of all the Business and Trade Associations and business interest groups to join us at the Town Hall session between the business community as we formulate a united forum for all businesses in Malaysia to engage the government in the post-pandemic economic recovery efforts.

—Date : 18th March  2021

—Time : 2.00 PM

—Venue : Foodtree/Jungle GYM 4th Floor,

—Bangsar Shopping Centre, Kuala Lumpur

  [caption id="attachment_36234" align="aligncenter" width="947"] Together with the media and guests present for the discussion[/caption] [caption id="attachment_36235" align="aligncenter" width="947"] Co-Hosted BY MDCC, with the FEDERATION OF MALAYSIA BUSINESSES[/caption]

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Press Conference Co-Hosted by MDCC Vaccine Equity and Equality : TIME TO GET ALL OF MALAYSIA INVOLVED

—Date : 1st April 2021

—Time : 12 PM

—Venue : Foodtree/Jungle GYM 4th Floor,

—Bangsar Shopping Centre, Kuala Lumpur

  [caption id="attachment_36238" align="aligncenter" width="448"] Vaccine Equity and Equality :TIME TO GET ALL OF MALAYSIA INVOLVED[/caption]   [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][button type="rd_3dstroke_bt" animation="rda_fadeInUp" url="https://cdn.digitalsme.cloud/profile/d94b8392-b677-4d23-af4e-fc49b71b116d/platform/2a502387-1788-4284-96bb-a38c61b0da6b/2021/04/Press-Invitation_1st-April-2021-at-12-noon_BSG-with-APHM.pdf" target="yes" position="ta_center"]Press Release[/button][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][button type="rd_3dstroke_bt" animation="rda_fadeInUp" url="https://cdn.digitalsme.cloud/profile/d94b8392-b677-4d23-af4e-fc49b71b116d/platform/2a502387-1788-4284-96bb-a38c61b0da6b/2021/04/PRESS-RELEASE_1.04.2021.pdf" target="yes" position="ta_center"]Press Release[/button][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Benefits
Grant amounting up to 50% or a maximum of RM 5,000 from total invoice amount
Great deals on digital solutions from a wide list of panels listed by MDEC
Wide range of digitalisation areas:
1. Electronic Point of Sale System (e-POS)
2. Human Resource Payroll System (HR) / Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
3. Digital Marketing / Sales
4. Procurement
5. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) / Accounting & Taxation
6. Remote Working
7. e-Commerce

Now’s your chance to get your business digitalized! In conjunction with Budget 2020, The Ministry of Finance (MOF) is now giving grants to Small & Medium Enterprises (SME) to adopt digitalisation in daily operations.

SME ELIGIBILITY
1. The SME is at least 60% owned by Malaysian invidually;
2. The SME is registered under the relevant laws of Malaysia and classified as SME;
3. The SME has been in operation for at least one (1) year; and
4. For SMEs which has been in operation for one (1) year, the SME is required to have a minimum annual sales turnover of RM100,000.00 for the first year; and
5. For SMEs which have been in operation for two (2) years or more, the SME is required to have a minimum annual sales turnover of RM50,000.00 for the preceding two (2) consecutive years.

Years of Operation : Min. Annual Sales Turnover
1 Year : RM 100,000
More than 1 Year : RM 50,000 for two (2) preceding consecutive years

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

Completed SME Digitalisation Initiative Application Form.
A copy of the Identification Card or Passport of Director (s) / Partner (s) / Proprietor(s) of the SME, whichever is applicable.
A copy of the SME’s business registration licenses (CCM or any similar forms under the Companies Act 2016).
Latest audited financial statements or latest financial management account statement or the SME’s bank statement for the last two (2) months;
Quotation/invoice for the selected digitalisation services from the Service Provider listed by MDEC; and
Any other information and documents as and when required by the bank.

APPLICATION STEPS :

1. The SME must contact and appoint one or more services of Service Providers listed by MDEC to perform any of the digitalisation services available (maximum of 3 digital services).
2. The SME must complete and submit the application form together with the required supporting documents to the Service Provider.
3. The Service Provider is to submit the application form together with the supporting document to the Bank.
4. Once the SME’s application is approved, subject to the total invoice amount, the SME is responsible to pay the difference of the total invoice after deducting the subsidised amount granted from the Initiative for each digitalisation service to the Service Provider.
5. The Bank will then make a direct 50% payment of the total invoice amount or up to RM5,000.00 to the Service Provider in one lump sum payment or in stages based on the Bank’s discretion.

With data being “the new gold”, Malaysia is set to enjoy economic ripple effects from the RM4bil “Bersama Malaysia” initiative with tech giant Microsoft Corp that will also strengthen the country’s potential as a regional data hub.

The initiative will see Microsoft set up its first data centre region in the country to deliver trusted cloud services locally and to upskill one million Malaysians by the end of 2023.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said this significant investment from Microsoft further fortified Malaysia’s position as a potential data hub.

“I am delighted to welcome Microsoft’s long-term commitment to Malaysia in empowering our inclusive digital economy and look forward to our long and prosperous digital partnership, ” said Muhyiddin in his keynote address when launching the Microsoft “Bersama Malaysia” initiative here yesterday.

The Prime Minister pointed to International Data Corporation, which stated that the ripple effects of the data centre region investment could translate to US$6.9 (RM28.3) of revenue generated in the local cloud ecosystem for every US$1 (RM4.2) of Microsoft Malaysia’s cloud revenue by 2024.

It was also estimated to help create 19,000 jobs including 4,000 IT-related jobs among its cloud users, he added.

“As we cement this partnership with Microsoft today, I hope this is just the first green shoots of a broader meadow of investments in Malaysia, for Microsoft and other data players.

“We stand ever ready to welcome more such partnerships as we work with our stakeholders to continually improve Malaysia’s value proposition in this big data space, ” said Muhyiddin.

Several memoranda of understanding were inked at the event, including between Microsoft and the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu), the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), Petronas, Celcom Axiata and Grab Malaysia.

These partnerships will see Microsoft offering skills training to help create economic opportunities for people and businesses in the digital era.

Muhyiddin said the impact of Covid-19 and the ensuing lockdowns across the globe had forced the world to embrace remote work, e-commerce, distance education and online interaction on a new magnified scale.

The pandemic had also shown that the most vulnerable often lack access to technologies and were at risk of being left behind, he pointed out.

Malaysia, he added, held the potential to become a regional data hub owing to the growing availability of high bandwidth, ample space, competitive power tariffs and now, the oncoming presence of hyperscalers.

“We are a small nation with big data ambitions. As we chart that course, Malaysia fully intends to remain at the forefront of technology by using data to deliver improved services for businesses, increase economic productivity and step up Malaysia’s competitiveness, ” said Muhyiddin.

He said the government would be migrating 80% of its data to the cloud by end of the year. This migration, coupled with a government super-app in the future, would go far in widening datasets to identify societal issues and coordinate support for the needy.

The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (Medac) launched the Aladdin1 Malaysia halal-focused e-commerce platform today.

Deputy Minister Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin hopes that the hub will seek to emulate China’s Alibaba e-commerce platform.

“I urge not only halal industry players, but also manufacturers to leverage on the platform which plans to move forward in a scalable manner.

“We hope Aladdin will follow Alibaba and eventually place us among the leading digital markets solutions in the world,” she said at the launch today.

Aladdin group co-founder Datuk Seri Desmond To said the platform aimed to address the difficulties of small-medium enterprises (SME) to break into global markets.

He added that Aladdin1 will start its in Malaysia, before expanding into over 45 countries.

Once realised, he said this would mean access to five billion customers worldwide including 1.5 billion Muslims.

“Our focus is on our consumers. While our products and services are of great importance, our core product remains; trust and integrity.

“With a capable and dynamic management team, directors, board of advisors, shareholders and valued partners jointly honouring this promise. All stakeholders shall grow globally together”, he said.

UNLIKE the much-hyped visit to Kuala Lumpur in 1998 when he was named an official adviser to Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project, Bill Gates didn’t make a virtual appearance to launch Microsoft Corp’s “Bersama Malaysia” (Together with Malaysia) initiative on April 19 that marked a significant milestone of its 28 years in the country. Yet, the commitment by the technology behemoth Gates co-founded (but is no longer chairman of) to help upskill one million Malaysians by 2023, create at least 19,000 new jobs and invest US$1 billion (RM4 billion) here over five years would prove to have more lasting benefits for Malaysians seeking greater economic opportunities in an increasingly digitised world.

Microsoft’s US$1 billion investment in Malaysia — which IDC’s research says would help generate up to US$4.6 billion in new revenues for the country’s ecosystem of local partners and cloud-consuming customers over the next four years — was already indicated by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin when launching the MyDIGITAL initiative on Feb 19. Microsoft, Google and Amazon were named alongside Telekom Malaysia Bhd as four cloud service providers (CSPs) that would collectively invest between RM12 billion and RM15 billion over five years to build and manage hyperscale data centres and cloud services in Malaysia.

While observers reckon that investments may well be motivated by government contracts that are up for grabs, with Malaysia targeting to migrate 80% of public data to hybrid cloud systems by end-2022 to have more effective and efficient data collection and management, others say it is up to the policymakers and the people executing MyDIGITAL to ensure that the people and businesses in the country harness the benefits of having the commitment of global giants such as Microsoft, from headline investment figures to skills training for the local talent pool, both of which are necessary for the country to bolster its long-term competitiveness.

World Bank Malaysia’s lead economist Richard Record says Microsoft’s commitment attests to Malaysia’s many longstanding advantages as a destination for foreign direct investment, including location, workforce skills and an attractive business environment. “Last week’s Cabinet approval of a new set of National Investment Aspirations is an important first step towards setting Malaysia’s ambition to raise the quality of investments,” he tells The Edge in an email.

The new National Investment Aspirations and the decision to establish a National Investment Council are “an excellent starting point towards this goal and will help articulate both Malaysia’s value proposition and offering towards investors, as well as what Malaysia seeks from investors in return towards the goal of raising the quality of investments”, says Record.

“Having said that, the international environment for investment is becoming more competitive and new policies and tools will be needed to bolster Malaysia’s position,” he adds.

In its recent report, “Aiming high: Navigating the next stage of Malaysia’s development” released in March, the World Bank said Malaysian policymakers would need to establish clearer objectives to sustain its competitiveness and maximise local development benefits to maintain FDI volumes as well as attract quality investments that generate the desired spillover effects to the economy.

“Historically, Malaysia’s investment policy has been heavily focused on a set of predetermined priority sectors. However, the effectiveness of this approach is becoming increasingly questionable with the continued growth in the number of eligible sectors since the 1960s, resulting in the lack of clarity regarding the prioritisation progress,” says the report, recommending that Malaysia reform its investment promotion framework by increasing coordination between the lead investment promotion agency and subnational agencies, as well as assure investors on the objectivity and accuracy of the compliance monitoring system for tax incentives.

Researchers at the World Bank note that Malaysian firms are less likely to invest in upskilling and innovation compared with companies in countries that have successfully transitioned to high-income status. Only 18.5% of firms provide training to employees compared with an average of 40% in countries that they reckon Malaysia should benchmark against. Malaysia also needs to align incentives for researchers to collaborate with the private sector and conduct industry-relevant research to boost commercialisation of R&D outputs and process of technology transfer.

“There are concerns that some may be left behind in the digital transition, due to geography, affordability or other factors. So, it is important that the government focuses carefully on ensuring that the growth of the digital economy is an inclusive process,” says Record.

The need to bridge the gap in critical skill shortages as well as the need to get more Malaysians to be creators and innovators of technology, instead of being mere users and adopters, are also key areas that World Bank researchers noted that the country needs to do better at. Their research found most of Malaysia’s workforce to be semi-skilled and the country’s talent pool to lag behind in frontier skill areas such as robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) that are necessary to thrive in Industry 4.0.

While the level of digital adoption by Malaysian citizens is among the world’s highest and there is a thriving digital entrepreneurship scene in the country, “there is a very real need to improve workforce capabilities so that all Malaysians are able to thrive in a changing digital workplace”, says Record.

Surina Shukri, CEO of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), reckons that the need to nurture more digital innovators and leaders, not just followers and users of technology, is not only crucial for Malaysia to become a globally competitive digital nation but also essential to prevent technology-induced job losses.

“We at MDEC believe that through re-training and re-skilling initiatives, we can co-opt individuals of various credentials into the digital economy and bolster nascent industries that now have growing demand for such talents. Initiatives like #SayaDigital — a movement that MDEC developed to empower Malaysians with digital skills and technologies — are crucial enablers to help introduce digital industries to those seeking out re-skilling opportunities,” she says in an emailed reply, noting that MDEC’s initiatives under the pillar of Digitally Skilled Malaysians have impacted more than two million Malaysians between 2016 and September 2020.

Under MDEC’s Malaysia 5.0 agenda to enable a nation that is deeply integrated with technology, the agency mandated to accelerate digital transformation and national investments in the area has a number of programmes underway to create industry digital leaders as well as to future-proof them, she adds.

All Malaysians, people and businesses need to be on the same page in making Malaysia a digital leader instead of just users of technology, as “creating digital leaders will prevent the displacement of the human workforce with machines”, says Surina.

“Despite the efficiencies of Industry 4.0 technologies, humans are still needed to maximise their benefit. People are to work on higher-value activities while robots and machines perform laborious and repetitive tasks. As such, there is an urgency for employees to acquire digital skills to stay relevant in the digital world.

“These joint efforts have to be prioritised by both public and private organisations. Business leaders must prioritise creating digital leaders in their organisations, leaders who are able to build teams, keep people connected and engaged, and drive a culture of innovation, risk tolerance, and continuous improvement. The new generation of leaders must be agile and digital-ready.”

She asks Malaysians to come on board and calls entrepreneurs to “think global at inception, from day one”.

As reflected by the launch of the MyDIGITAL initiative, Malaysia knows it has to digitise fast to secure the desired future prosperity for all. The hardship caused by Covid-19 will only cause digital laggards to fall further behind if policymakers are not able to rally enough support for change to build and secure the country’s future competitive edge.

In its media release, Microsoft says the “Bersama Malaysia” initiative to equip individuals with equal opportunity to thrive in a cloud and AI-based digital economy has reached “more than 110,000 Malaysians” since July 2020. That the programme is a continuation of its global skills initiative, however, means Malaysians who receive training need to build on those skills to attain real competitive advantage over others outside the country with access to the same programme. Policymakers will need to make sure the latter happens to secure more than just impressive headlines.

In 2016, Klaus Schwab, Chairman of the World Economic Forum, predicted the Fourth Industrial Revolution as a profound shift, marked by incredible technological advancements that would fundamentally change how we live and work, blurring the lines between physical and digital spheres.

Half a decade later, the pandemic has fast-tracked this revolution, propelling us into a virtual world. Fortunately, this has coincided with another powerful shift – the arrival of 5G, foundational tech that will allow us to rethink the use of technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

This, in a post-Covid world, where businesses will increasingly need to reach, connect and engage consumers virtually.

Initial conversations surrounding this next-gen wireless network technology have only scratched the surface – focusing on much faster speeds and mobile connectivity for higher-quality calls, video streaming, and data downloads. While these are definite benefits, 5G isn't simply a much-improved version of the 4G network, it is a game-changer.

Around the world, 5G has already begun driving seismic shifts in the way businesses work, communicate, and engage with partners and consumers. Recognising that digital technology is key in driving the country's economic growth and competitiveness post Covid-19, the Malaysian government recently launched the MyDigital blueprint, a digital economy roadmap that will see 5G services commercially available in urban and industrial areas by Q4 of 2021.

5G is not just about speed. With its ability to power transformative tech, it opens up an unprecedented world of opportunity for business and enterprises. Here is what the coming of 5G will mean for Malaysia, and how businesses can prepare for its arrival.

Generational telecom technology shifts of the past created an impact beyond mobile phones and communication, immensely benefiting brands who were prepared to leverage these technological shifts –Apple leveraged 3G to edge out BlackBerry, while 4G propelled the rise of Netflix and the rest of the gig economy. In the upcoming landscape, businesses prepared to harness 5G stand to gain in the midst of a massive technological and economic shift.

It won't be long before we see new consumer patterns emerge with the arrival of 5G, as digital transitions deepen in Southeast Asia, turbocharging connectivity and media consumption choices for consumers.

The Movement Control Order (MCO) has given us a taste of how technology can bridge the physical and digital divide, as we stayed home and tried digital experiences – from classroom learning to concerts and new ways of shopping online. The arrival of 5G is set to dramatically propel these experiences, bringing digital experiences to life with a human touch. This will be done through new technologies that will be supercharged by 5G such as AR, VR, AI, and robotics.

Next-gen immersive experiences will feel seamless with 5G, without even the slightest lag. As AR and VR become mainstream in a 5G world, businesses will be able to leverage these technologies to engage and communicate with their audiences.

These technologies will be heavily used in both business to business (B2b) and business to consumers (B2C) engagements, as in the case of media and consumer experiences – bringing more enterprises into the digital ecosystem and helping people vividly connect to their passions.

This will allow brands to move from 2D to 3D experiences, beyond simply displaying content such as photos and videos of products on a website, to enabling immersive interaction with their products in a mixed-reality setting, and even replicating the 'social interactions' that consumers miss so much, digitally.

For B2B, these technologies offer more innovative formats and tools to transform marketing and operations for greater efficiency, transparency and accountability. For consumers, we can expect 5G to power more interactive broadca

st options and other immersive experiences such as alternate reality destinations.

For example, live events across sports, music, and beyond that will engage audiences in hybrid scenarios, both at home and within venues -- think fans transported virtually to sports stadiums such as the NBA's VR experience through Oculus, or a promotional brand event held at a virtual theme park, or even on Mars!

At the 2019 world premiere of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, attendees at the after-party in Los Angeles interacted with virtual Sith Jet troopers in an authentic Star Wars environment through an immersive extended reality (XR) experience. Closer to home, we also recently presented Asia's first XR awards show, Yahoo Asia Buzz Awards, in an exciting three-dimensional visual experience which saw the amalgamation of physical and virtual stages in a seamless, virtual setting.

Through innovative brand experiences, 5G can help businesses better connect to customers by building customer favourability, engagement and sales. For example, AR can be used to design a seamless and friction-free experience, allowing customers to virtually sample products before purchasing them – from accessories to clothes and even furniture.

Recently, in the US, Levi's leveraged popular screen sharing app Squad to host virtual styling and shopping events for groups of friends with a Levi's stylist, allowing friends to shop together and try out different looks using AR, reinforcing the social aspect of shopping from the comforts of home.

Businesses that can ride the shift, building a bridge between the physical and virtual world with 5G, will be able to fuel their ambitions to lead as innovators.

Across Southeast Asia, consumers are curious about this next frontier, with 53 per cent of respondents in a recent SEA 5G study by Verizon Media saying they were 'excitedly' awaiting the arrival of 5G.

With 5G only months away, Malaysian businesses need to gear up now to capitalise on the limitless possibilities that lie ahead when 5G becomes widely available not only in Malaysia but throughout the region.

The clock has already begun ticking for advertisers and marketers in Malaysia, with 75 per cent of consumers in Verizon Media's 2020 research on 5G and immersive formats saying they desire new content experiences that are interactive, with 60 per cent saying they are more inclined to purchase from brands that create content with innovative technologies.

While the potential and possibilities that these technologies can offer with 5G are far ranging, there is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution –businesses need to start exploring the technologies 5G will power early if they want to stay ahead. Investing time in research, and understanding the benefits and requirements for these technologies willkio be crucial in determining what works best for the business and how to apply these.

Moreover, it is also essential to examine business capabilities, resources and finances to execute a 5G strategy which can be a substantial investment. For businesses with challenging budgets, it will be helpful to work with a trusted, experienced partner who brings technological and creative expertise and scale to help maximise efficiency and cost for a 5G strategy.

Heralded as the next general purpose technology, the coming of 5G to Malaysia will alter society as we know it. Businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve will have to further adapt to this ever-changing landscape, harnessing 5G for a stake in the revolution that will shape the future.

Our working culture has changed significantly in the form of diversified innovations using the digital technology platform. It is estimated that one million Malaysians have joined the gig economy for income.

According to one recent study, 35 per cent of youths aged between 18 and 35 are working in the gig economy, with 60 per cent making it their primary source of income.

This is a gig economic innovation that has exploded and is increasingly trending in the country. Ironically, it is an indirect positive consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Movement Control Order.

In general, apart from being called freelance workers or part-timers, the workforce in the gig economy is also known as project-based workers.

College students, in particular, can now work in the gig economy such as e-hailing services, food delivery, space rentals such as Airbnb, and content creation, including generating revenue as influencers on digital platforms like YouTube.

Thus, there is a gig economy phenomenon globally, including in Malaysia, making the sector a new and important source of income.

In fact, the government realises that the solution to unemployment is to start new economic innovation measures such as revamping the syllabus and incorporating learning, as well as improving the skills needed to prepare young people to venture into the gig economy.

According to the 2021 Economic Outlook Report released by the Finance Ministry, in line with the rise of the gig economy, institutions of higher learning need to shift away from teaching and learning systems that focus only on producing students to be employed.

The workforce must be equipped with skills to support the gig economy, say analysts. That includes providing more training in software and technology development, creative and multimedia work, data entry and analysis, as well as writing and translation.

According to the report, the government has launched the Global Online Workforce (GLOW) training programme via the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) with an allocation of RM25 million, as well as the myGIG programme to
enable Malaysians to generate higher income through digitalisation.

Encouragingly, up to August last year, there were 140 platforms that provided opportunities for gig and independent workers with an estimated 540,000 active workers in Malaysia.

Grab and Foodpanda continue to record an increase in the number of employees, in addition to around 190,000 employees who work as riders and drivers on various logistics platforms.

This suggests that most millennials more likely will not engage in traditional employment
because the gig economy offers greater freedom and flexibility, in line with their aspirations.

A study by the Zurich-University of Oxford in 2018 found that 38 per cent of respondents in Malaysia who worked full time wanted to venture into the gig economy in the next 12 months. The rise of the millennial generation and digital technology is a major factor contributing to this surge.

The gig economy workers also have high hopes for their welfare with the government allocating RM75 million for the following measures:

FIRST, a grant of RM50 million in the form of matching funds will be allocated for the gig economy platform to contribute to its employees under the Socso Occupational Disaster Scheme and the EPF i-Remuneration Scheme; and,

SECOND, an allocation of RM25 million to MDEC for the GLOW programme aimed at assisting Malaysians to generate income online through international clients.

This is a timely and noble move as serious attention for the long-term gig economic development plan needs to be carefully coordinated through the National Employment Special Committee comprising the finance and human resources ministers, with representatives from the private and public sectors.

Now is the time for Malaysia to offer flexibility, including attractive incentives and tax exemptions to e-commerce, e-hailing, p-hailing, e-banking and other operators in the diverse business world, especially digital technology-based services.

Therefore, business innovation and investment can be achieved by focusing on new-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence,drone technology, financial technology (FinTech) and blockchain technology.

Lastly, continuing to modernise the digital economy will help make Malaysia the mainstay of digital Asean with gig economy as the pillar of employment and economic growth in the future.

The evolution of economic activity and technology offers enormous challenges and an opportunity for data centres

THE establishment of data centre hubs and cloud service providers will continue to be the driving force behind the rise of the country’s digital economy, according to AIMS Data Centre CEO Chiew Kok Hin.

He said businesses that have gone digital or invested more heavily to digitalise their businesses and processes, are unlikely to go back to the “brick and mortar” way of doing things.

Therefore, he added, demand for data centres will continue to grow, directly or indirectly, as South-East Asia has been the focus for its emerging data centre market for the past few years.

“With the slowly maturing business environment, technology and resources, local businesses and global players are flooding the market with tremendous technological demand.

“Data centre infrastructure has been the driving force in the rise of the digital economy. This was very apparent in 2020 when cloud computing technology enabled the nation to persevere and adapt to the new normal during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This trend will continue well into and past 2021,” he told The Malaysian Reserve in an email interview recently.

Chiew noted that the evolution of economic activity and technology offers enormous challenges and an opportunity for data centres as digital infrastructures will be central to this transition.

Chiew said the Covid-19 pandemic-driven information technology (IT) modernisation is a continuation of the enterprise shift from on-premise legacy IT platforms and systems to more agile cloud technologies in third-party data centres.

He added that postponing IT transformation projects isn’t an option as companies adjust their IT roadmaps to compete in a shifting business landscape.

“The pandemic has placed an emphasis on flexibility, which will accelerate the ongoing shift to new architectures and software-defined, programmable Infrastructures.

“All of this adds up to a massive surge in demand for data centres and cloud infrastructure to be bigger, faster, ready-to-scale and available everywhere,” he added.

Commenting on how the data centre industry is paving the way for modern businesses, Chiew said Malaysia’s digitalisation efforts had accelerated more than expected ever since the Covid-19 outbreak followed by the Movement Control Order in March 2020.

He emphasised consumers and businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, have swiftly moved most of their business operations online as part of their mitigation plan against restrictions imposed in curbing the spread of Covid-19.

“We predict this shift will likely become a permanent means of conducting business due to its advantage of being convenient and efficient.

“Given the current circumstances, the Internet has become an essential service to facilitate the shift to remote working, increase in online buying behaviour and online learning. This surge in demand for connectivity is straining networks, stretching the limits of VPNs (virtual private networks) and increasing the need for collaboration tools.

“As a result, it has elevated the importance of data centres as well as cloud computing,” he added.

Chiew said as the cloud is deemed a solution for everything from cost management to performance, flexibility, durability and simplicity, the digital transformation roadmap during this pandemic has amplified the demand for effective cloud computing solutions from data centres.

He also expects investments in IT infrastructure will continue and expand as the data centre industry strives to deliver more secure, reliable and efficient infrastructure and solutions to secure sustainable recovery paths and keep up with the accelerated digital transformation efforts.

“As the world makes this online and cloud migration more permanent, AIMS anticipates widespread acceptance of the data centre as a digital economy hub, supporting increased reliance on telemedicine and health, enhanced e-commerce and global telecommunications and mass media,” he noted.

AIMS is an industry leader in data centre operations, in which businesses have the opportunity to connect with their partners, users and employees via AIMS’ interconnected ecosystem of data centres across South-East Asia.

According to a report by GlobeNewswire, Malaysia’s data centre market size will attract investments of US$1.4 billion (RM5.8 billion) by 2026.

It stated that the country’s information and communications technology market witnessed spending of around US$17 billion (RM70.5 billion) in 2020, which is expected to grow around 3% to 5% year-on-year, with increased digitalisation of enterprise business environments.

The government aims to achieve 50% cloud adoption in cloud data centres in Malaysia by 2024. In April this year, Microsoft Corp announced it will launch the first data centre region in Malaysia, followed by Amazon Web Services and Google LLC which have plans to establish cloud regions in Malaysia.

Malaysia has plans to develop the next smart city project in Johor, which is being developed with Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, big data, 5G technology and autonomous vehicles.

The soon-to-be implemented 5G network in the country is expected to boost the digital economy and increase the demand for high bandwidth networking infrastructure.

Malaysia’s digital economy is making large strides in its maturity, according to a new study by strategy consulting firm YCP Solidiance. However, with the future in mind, there is no room for complacency, and organisations of all sizes and shapes are advised to accelerate their digitalisation plans.

The country’s digital economy is estimated by YCP Solidiance to be worth over RM 270 billion, which equates to roughly 18% of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP). This makes Malaysia more digitally mature than many other countries in the Asia Pacific region, and also a digital step ahead of several Western economies.

Accelerated by the current Covid-19 crisis and resulting lockdown, which has abruptly lifted the need for digital shopping, working and connection, the share of GDP coming from the digital segment is forecasted to reach 20% by the end of this year.

Malaysia’s progress builds for a large part on the government’s digital strategy first launched over two decades ago. Since the inception of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1996, the Government of Malaysia has been persistently promoting the nation’s digital agenda as evidenced through multiple public initiatives such as the National Strategic ICT Roadmap & Digital Malaysia (2008-2012), National eCommerce Strategic Roadmap (2017), Industry4WRD (2018) and the latest National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (2019-2023). 

Today, Malaysia ranks as Southeast Asia’s second most digital advanced country on Huawei’s Global Connectivity Index. In some sectors the country is a leader in the landscape; EY for instance concluded in 2018 that Malaysia’s banking sector is the most digitally evolved in ASEAN, ahead of peers in Hong Kong, China and Singapore. 

According to the report from YCP Solidiance, the large majority of Malaysian companies now use digital as a means to enhance decision making, improve productivity, streamline and automate processes, enhance customer experience or identify commercial opportunities, among others. 

Most organisations use technology as an enabler for operational enhancements, including using IT systems (HR, procurement, finance), using digital payments and adopting cloud-based working. The use of tooling to improve products and services to external stakeholders follows – this includes generally front-end tools for customer engagement such as enhancing company or brand awareness online with digital marketing, search engine optimised website, or an e-commerce platform. 

Around a quarter of Malaysian companies uses digitisation to augment decision-making – the low uptake is due to the need for more advanced technology, as well as a solid IT infrastructure and people that have mastered topics such as data analytics and artificial intelligence. 

Growing maturity

Despite the upward trajectory, consulting firm estimates that six out of 10 companies still are at the basic digitalisation stage, which spans the digitisation of current work processes from what used to be manual to digitally-enabled.

At the other end of the spectrum, less than one in five companies can call themselves digitally advanced, matching the likes of the globe’s frontrunners including Amazon, Google or Microsoft. Companies at this stage have a digital strategy in place which is fully integrated with its business pillars and functions, supported by a culture that embraces digitisation. 

Growing digital capabilities

With the future only becoming more digital, companies will need to ramp up their digital maturity. For many however, this represents a daunting task. Across all corners of the globe, reports surface of failed IT transformations or systems that are not being put to use. Leveraging their experience in the field, the report’s authors – led by YCP Solidiance partner U-Yun Wong – put forward a number of best practices for execution. 

First, have a clear strategic digital direction to steer any form of digitalisation initiatives, because “digital transformation should not be viewed as a one-off business agenda, but a continuous iteration of current work flows.” Second, start small using a pilot and learn approach. “We recommend companies to kick start their digitalisation transformation journey, from the angle of one transformation at a time, materialising the intentions into actions.” 

“Companies should adopt an incremental digitalisation approach to achieve quick wins and subsequently realise the bigger picture. Start with one area, start small. Identify a prioritised area to be digitalised.”

Third, management should take a leading role. “The management’s ability to drive and instil the importance of a digitally-powered company is a critical factor to any successful digital transformation.” This spans from the first communication to ensure that the digital ambition is cascaded to every employee within the business, through to leading by example, personal commitment and involvement during the roll-out phase. 

Finally, Malaysian companies should not overlook the role of human capital. Having the right digital competencies in place has been found to be the largest barrier to implementation, follow by organisational buy-in – two factors that revolve around people. This includes ensuring buy-in from employees to lower resistance to change, and upskilling or reskilling existing talent within the company through trainings. 

The pandemic has brought about a massive, permanent digital adoption spurt in Southeast Asia, according to Google Cloud
New sectors within the digital economy are emerging, especially in education and health technology
Key verticals such as the finance, healthcare and manufacturing sectors witness a surge in demand for cloud-based solutions

If there is one thing virtually certain since the occurrence of the pandemic is that it has speeded up the adoption of digital technologies by several years – and that most of the changes could be here for the long haul. In just a matter of months, the Covid-19 crisis has brought about accelerated change to the digital economy, the way companies in a great many sectors do business around Southeast Asia (SEA).

The e-Conomy SEA 2020 report jointly compiled by Google, Singapore’s Temasek, and the venture capital firm Bain & Company, reveals that 40 million people in six SEA nations came online for the first time in 2020, bringing the total number of Internet users in the region to 400 million, up from 250 million in 2015. They represent around 70% of the 580 million people living in these countries. At the same time, the size of the region’s digital economy exceeded US$100 billion this year for the first time – and if current trends hold, is set to triple to more than US$300 billion by 2025.

The report focused on Southeast Asia’s six largest economies: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Tech Wire Asia was given the opportunity to discuss with Google Cloud SEA MD Ruma Balasubramanian regarding the wave of change for Southeast Asia’s internet economy in the last one and a half years.

“The market is just amazing. There’s so much demand across every single country in Southeast Asia contributing to the growth in the digital economy sector. Companies of all sizes wanting to solve their most complex business problems in the middle of a pandemic. What is happening in the last 18 months is just an incredible testament to the level of digitization across the region,” Ruma said.

True enough, the report indicated that e-commerce, online media, and food delivery adoption and usage have surged last year, while transport and online travel have suffered significant challenges. Ultimately, the net effect is that the internet sector will remain resilient and is poised to grow to over US$300 billion GMV by 2025, a clear indication that momentum has not been derailed by the year’s challenging environment.

There is a cloud hovering over SEA

Cloud has emerged as a core foundation of this renewed tech focus, leading to Asia Pacific public cloud services spending growth of over 38% to US$36.4 billion in 2020, according to the latest update of the IDC Worldwide Public Cloud Services Spending Guide. Cloud Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is the top contributor to the overall public cloud spend in 2020, making around 48% of the overall spending – it is expected to remain the highest throughout the forecast.

“The growth in demand of cloud services and digital across Southeast Asia has been very well. Companies are really interested in getting close to their consumers. For example KPG Healthcare Malaysia, they’re actually leveraging Google meet for their telemedicine consultation for non-urgent health care issues.

“That’s just one slice of how we see the industry sort of evolving overall, from a cloud perspective. What gets my attention even in the short time that I’ve been involved with cloud, is that how enterprises, regardless of their sizes, are increasing exponentially in digitization throughout the course of the pandemic,” Ruma told TWA.

Health technology (HealthTech) and education technology (EdTech) have played a critical role during the pandemic, with impressive adoption rates to match. Even so, these sectors remain nascent and challenges need to be addressed before they can be commercialized at a larger scale. Nonetheless, the boost in adoption, compounded with fast-growing funding, is likely to propel innovation in this space over the coming years.

Google Workspace’s uptake

Ruma also shared that the Google Workspace’s platform that has 2.9 billion users worldwide, is coming from across every single segment of the market. “For an example, in the consumer space, we’re seeing tremendous adoption of workspace, for example, within education since we have been really supporting governments for the adoption of workspace by students as well as teachers.”

She added that there has been huge adoption among large enterprises as well. “If you’re the CEO or the CXO of a large enterprise, you don’t want to be caught flat-footed. You need to ensure business resiliency, continued innovation because truth is told, this isn’t gonna be the last pandemic. You have to have a proper remote working strategy.”

Who experienced the largest cloud expansion?

Ruma highlighted that Google Cloud is witnessing massive uptake of digital natives as a lot of investment is going into the space in SEA. “In Vietnam in particular, we’re also seeing an incredible development of digital talent because a lot of the programs and from Google Cloud Platform’s perspective, a lot of the certifications are actually coming in from Vietnam. Plus, we are hiring incredibly qualified engineers who are already certified so it’s a great growth market for us.”

Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL) specifically sets out to map the importance of cybersecurity, listing it under one of the six main thrusts of the blueprint; to build trusted, secure and ethical digital environment. Cybersecurity sets the foundation from which businesses and enterprises can operate and grow in a safe and secure digital environment.

New working arrangement in the new norm, i.e. working from home, has also contributed to the surge in cyberattacks. Most SMEs utilise a “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) approach, which significantly exposes valuable data and information to cyberattacks and various malicious forms of intrusion. SMEs bear a brunt of these attacks.

In 2020, Malaysia recorded 6,512 cybersecurity incidents. In the period between January to May 2021, the number of incidents recorded stood at 4,615, representing an almost one-fold increase in threats and incidents comparatively. Cyber crimes have also shown an upward trend.

According to the Royal Malaysian Police statistics, in 2019, the number of cyber crimes reported was 11,875 cases, with RM498 million in terms of losses. Last year, the number of cases increased to 14,229, with total losses of RM413 million. In the first quarter of this year, the number of cases reported was 4,327 and the losses involved were RM 77 million.

As the world grapples with the effects brought about by the pandemic, malicious attacks and serious data breaches are also increasing at an alarming rate, compounding the situation and putting into sharp focus the criticality of having a robust cybersecurity system in place. According to Deloitte, unseen (previously undocumented) malware or methods employed by hackers and cyber attackers have risen 30 percent during the pandemic as opposed to 20 percent pre-pandemic.

SMEs contribute a large percentage to our overall GDP, 38.9 percent in 2019 while the digital economy contributed 19.1 percent in the same period. Thus it is imperative that we must ensure that the appropriate safeguards are in place. Cybersecurity adoption for SMEs and as a whole, is no longer an option but a necessity.

To put it in numbers:
• 84 percent of SMEs in Malaysia have been compromised in one way or another by cyber threat incidents.
• 76 percent SMEs have suffered more than one attack.

Cognizant of this situation, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the nation’s lead agency in digital transformation, in collaboration with the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) and SME Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp) have set out to develop and implement the MATRIX Cybersecurity for SMEs (MATRIX). This programme, launched on 28 June 2021 by Senior Minister for Security and Minister of Defence YB Dato’ Seri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob during Cyber Defence & Security Exhibition And Conference (CYDES) 2021, aims to boost cybersecurity adoption and implementation amongst SMEs from all sectors in Malaysia.

MATRIX is the first-of-its-kind in Malaysia and the region as it is designed specifically to facilitate acceleration of SME cybersecurity adoption. This collaborative programme between MDEC, NACSA, SME Corp and Malaysia’s cybersecurity industry partners is a customised programme that is designed to fit with the DNA of SMEs. MATRIX will bridge the gap in cybersecurity adoption and as a result, ensures that businesses can continue to operate in a mitigated and safer environment.

Echoing the importance of this initiative, NACSA, the national lead agency for cyber security, via its Chief Executive, Ir. Md Shah Nuri Md Zain, said, “The MATRIX programme is established to address current cybersecurity challenges faced by the SMEs. MATRIX will be supporting one of its five strategic pillars and protecting SME businesses which is the foundation of national economy and future economy. With the vast growing digital economy, cyberattacks will multiply with higher business impact. SMEs will be the biggest target due to the preparedness with lack of resources and expertise to manage cybersecurity operation. MATRIX can definitely manage those challenges and it will be a sustainable approach as digital adoption will be a journey.”

A robust cybersecurity system will integrate the virtual and physical spaces securely, resulting in a balanced economic advancement which resonates with our vision of Malaysia 5.0, a nation that is deeply integrated with technology, providing equitable digital opportunities to the people and businesses. It is also in line with Malaysia’s National Cybersecurity Strategy.

The MATRIX programme will also accelerate the journey of digital transformation and enhance the cybersecurity experience through two key value propositions:
• Simple - Easy to adopt and cost-effective with minimum supervision
• Smarter - Visibility by staying ahead of threats and scalable with business

The MATRIX programme has also taken into consideration the challenges faced by SMEs when it comes to adoption of cybersecurity measures i.e. lack of funds and resources, limited access to expertise and tools, and the complexity of deployment and operation. It sets out to assists SMEs end-to-end, identifying the potential gaps in cybersecurity, the priorities and offering a cost-effective measure.

MATRIX utilises a three-pronged strategy to mitigate and prevent instances of cyberattacks. First, it provides a 24-hour cybersecurity surveillance to discover and flag attacks to critical business operations. Secondly, it will provide critical asset protection, deploying the measures against attacks on servers. And thirdly, it continuously assesses the vulnerability and gaps as the threat of cyberattacks evolve.

The rapid growth of ICT and technology sovereignty bring with it a tremendous opportunity for Malaysia's cyber-security industry. IDC reported that cybersecurity spending for Malaysia reached RM2.6 billion (US$627 million) in 2019 and is expected to exceed RM4 billion (US$1 billion) mark by 2024.

For the next five years, it is expected to remain robust and will see steady growth at the rate of 12.5 percent (CAGR). This is more than twice of the overall ICT spending in the country which stood at 5.7 percent for the same period.

As cybersecurity is a domain that is continuously evolving and improving, with new technologies, processes, and methods, it will continue to expand the in-flow of investments and accelerate the growth of Malaysia’s cybersecurity ecosystem. At present, the local cybersecurity industry partners that have joined the MATRIX programme include TIME dotcom Berhad, NetAssist (M) Sdn Bhd, PERNEC Technologies Sdn Bhd, DNSVault Sdn Bhd, Securemetric Technology Sdn Bhd and Tecforte Sdn Bhd.

With so much at stake, not only must we be vigilant but also have the corresponding countermeasure in place.

Trade ministers from Singapore and China have agreed to further explore opportunities in digital trade and the green economy after a virtual meeting on Friday (Aug 20), said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

Enhancing bilateral economic relations was a key focus at the 6th Investment Promotion Committee (IPC) Meeting, co-chaired by Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, MTI said in a press release.

The meeting, last held in December 2017, is a platform for Singapore and China to discuss updates on key economic policies and developments, with the goal of deepening investment linkages and collaboration between the countries.

"The IPC meeting is a valuable platform for Singapore and China to explore new opportunities for collaboration as both countries manage the Covid-19 pandemic and seek new growth opportunities," said Mr Gan after the meeting.

"Today's meeting reflects the continued strong cooperation between Singapore and China, and shows that there is scope for Singapore and China to bolster economic ties, and provide more opportunities for our businesses and people."

MTI said that Mr Gan and Mr Wang affirmed the strong and longstanding bilateral economic ties between Singapore and China.

The ministers also spoke about the progress of bilateral projects such as Suzhou Industrial Park, which started in 1994, the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative launched in 2015 and Guangzhou Knowledge City, which broke ground in 2010.

The free trade agreement between China and Singapore, which came into effect in 2009, was acknowledged by the ministers as a cornerstone of economic cooperation.

Both welcomed significant progress made at the subsequent negotiations to upgrade the pact to enhance market access in services and investments, said MTI.

The ministers agreed to continue to work together to uphold a rules-based, multilateral trading environment through platforms such as the Group of 20, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation bloc and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership pact.

They committed to strengthening economic cooperation with the region by enhancing the Asean-China Free Trade Area as well, MTI added.

The ministry noted that China has been Singapore's largest trading partner since 2013, and Singapore's largest investment destination since 2007.

The rising global power accounted for about 16 per cent of Singapore's cumulative direct investment abroad as at the end of 2019.

China passed a sweeping privacy law aimed at preventing businesses from collecting sensitive personal data Friday, as the country faces an uptick in internet scams, leaks and concerns about tech giants abusing clients’ personal information.

Under the new rules passed by China’s top legislative body, state-run and private companies handling personal information will be required to reduce data collection and obtain user consent.

The Chinese state security apparatus will maintain access to swathes of personal data, however, and Beijing has long been accused of harnessing big tech to accelerate repression in the northwestern Xinjiang province and elsewhere.

The new rules are also expected to further rattle China’s tech sector, with companies like ride hailing giant Didi and gaming behemoth Tencent in regulators’ crosshairs in recent months over misuse of personal data.

The law aims to protect those who “feel strongly about personal data being used for user profiling and by recommendation algorithms or the use of big data in setting [unfair] prices,” a spokesman for the National People’s Congress told state news agency Xinhua earlier this week.

It will prevent companies from setting different prices for the same service based on clients’ shopping history, a common practice among Chinese online businesses.

The law is modelled after one of the world’s strictest online privacy protection laws — the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.

“China’s new privacy regime is one of the toughest in the world,” said Kendra Schaefer, a partner at Beijing-based consulting firm Trivium China. “China is not really looking at the short term with this law.”

Instead, she said, it aims “to establish the foundations for the digital economy over the next 40 or 50 years.”

The law also stipulates that the personal data of Chinese nationals cannot be transferred to countries with lower standards of data security than China — rules which may present problems for foreign businesses.

“The thing we’re all on tenterhooks over is the issue of data transfer,” Schaefer said.

“It poses a very interesting geopolitical conundrum, which is the US does not have a national privacy law.”

Companies that fail to comply can face fines of up to 50 million yuan (RM32.6 million) or 5 per cent of a company’s annual turnover.

Serious violators run the risk of losing their business licences and being forced to shut down.

Self-driving cars, AI robots, and BeiDou Navigation Satellite System caught the attention of exhibitors of the Digital Economy Exhibition of the fifth China-Arab States Expo, which just concluded on Sunday in China's Ningxia.

The theme of the Digital Economy Exhibition of the fifth China-Arab States Expo is "Digital Economy leads the Future with Intelligence."

The Digital Economy exhibition is divided into several sections,including the New Generation of Information Technology Exhibition, Intelligent Manufacturing, and the "Internet plus" Exhibition, Digital Infrastructure Exhibition.

The exhibition hall is built with recyclable environmental materials, using high-tech and green exhibition methods.

The expo, which was downsized this year for COVID-19 prevention and control, attracted thousands of enterprises from home and abroad at its offline and online sessions.

Sticker shock has even invaded the land of falling prices: online shopping.

Through economic booms and busts, e-commerce has long been virtually immune to inflationary pressures. Average online prices dropped every year between 2015 and 2019.

But Covid ended that once-reliable trend.

Online prices jumped 3.1% year-over-year in July, according to a report released Thursday by Adobe. Out of 18 categories captured by the Adobe Digital Economy Index, all but six saw price jumps last month. The price gains were most dramatic in July for online clothing, over-the-counter drugs and sporting goods.

"Pre-Covid, I don't think there was any inflation. It was exclusively deflationary," Austan Goolsbee, the former Obama adviser who helped Adobe develop the index, told CNN.

This isn't a one-month glitch. Online prices began rising soon after the pandemic erupted in March 2020 and that trend has continued.

Adobe found that online prices rose by 2.3% during the 12 months ending in June and gathered momentum in July.

That marks a sharp reversal from the pre-Covid historical trend. Between 2015 and 2019, online prices dropped by an average of 3.9% every year.

Why it matters
Goolsbee said the fact that online inflation is hotter-than-normal suggests the next few monthly inflation reports released by the US government may not show inflation is cooling off just yet. That would be a disappointment to consumers, not to mention the Federal Reserve, White House and the many economists arguing these price spikes are just a temporary phenomenon.

"The Fed should absolutely be paying attention to what's happening online," said Goolsbee, who added that he remains on "Team Temporary" when it comes to the inflation debate.

Online inflation is a big deal because falling e-commerce prices are often cited as a major reason inflation should eventually return to healthy levels.

It's long been cheaper to buy stuff online than in local stores. That's partially because shoppers can quickly and easily find what sites are offering the best deals. Consumers don't even need to leave their couch to bargain hunt.

Yet in July, annual prices rose sharply for online apparel (15.3%), nonprescription drugs (5.7%) and sporting goods (3.5%), Adobe said. Other categories returned to their deflationary trends. In July, online prices dropped for computers (-7%), toys (-4%) and office supplies (-2.5%).

But even in areas where prices dropped, they are not doing so as fast as usual. Adobe said online prices for electronics fell 2% during the 12 months ended July. That's a sharp contrast from the 2015-2019 historical average drop of 9% in online electronic prices.

Adobe has been tracking online prices monthly since 2014, but it only began releasing numbers on e-commerce inflation last month. Previously, Adobe shared that data almost exclusively with government agencies and academics.

'Everything is going up'
So why has inflation infiltrated online shopping?

First, e-commerce doesn't exist in a vacuum. It only makes sense for online prices to reflect the broader inflationary environment.

"The price of everything is going up," Goolsebee said.

Government-measured inflation, which include online shopping, has been scorching lately. US consumer prices spiked by 5.4% over the 12 months ended in July. That tied with June for the fastest annual consumer inflation since 2008.

Secondly, Adobe blamed online inflation on supply chain bottlenecks. That's the same challenge that has contributed to delayed furniture shipments and shortages in recent months of everything from steel and lumber to computer chips. After getting sidelined by Covid, supply is having serious trouble catching up to surging demand.

Demand is another factor here. The pandemic shuttered brick-and-mortar stores and made some shoppers nervous about going to grocery stores. That drove even more demand to online shopping — a category that was enjoying explosive growth long before Covid.

The inflation blame game
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has consistently said inflation is likely "transitory," cooling off as the economy reopens. He's pointed to the dramatic rise and subsequent collapse in lumber prices as evidence. Powell has, however, acknowledged there is a risk the Fed (and investors more broadly) are wrong and inflation hangs around for longer than anticipated.

The CEOs of BlackRock (BLK) and JPMorgan (JPM) have recently said they don't think inflation will be temporary.

The inflation debate has become a political football, with Republicans attacking Democrats for rising prices of groceries and back-to-school supplies.

"Democrats' reckless economic policies have caused a massive spike in prices, and parents across the country are feeling the sting as they send their kids back to school," NRCC Chairman Tom Emmers said in a statement Wednesday.

However, as CNN has previously reported, it's misleading to suggest that Covid-19 stimulus packages are the only reason for rising prices.

Goolsbee, a veteran of the Obama administration, dismissed the inflation attacks and remains steadfast in his belief that inflation will ease soon enough.

"The inflationists have the problem that every time a Democratic president has proposed to do something, they've said there is imminent danger of hyper-inflation," Goolsbee said, pointing to warnings of rapid price hikes caused by the 2009 stimulus package and Obamacare. "They've been systematically wrong over and over."

As a high schooler growing up in a small town in eastern China, Li Xiaoming dreamed of moving to a big city where he could have a better life.

Now 24, Li just wants to take a rest.

Across the country, young people like Li who requested to be referred to by that pseudonym because he fears career and political repercussions for his views are getting tired of the fierce competition for college and jobs, and the relentless rat race once they get hired.

They're now embracing a new philosophy they've called "tang ping," or "lying flat."

The phrase apparently traces its origins to a post earlier this year in an online forum run by the Chinese search giant Baidu. The author of that now-deleted post suggested that instead of working one's entire life chasing after an apartment and traditional family values, people should pursue a simple life.

In other words, just "lie flat."

Talk of "lying flat" has spread rapidly through China as young people contend with intense competition for the most attractive jobs, especially in tech and other white collar fields. As the country cracks down on private enterprise, meanwhile, the public has grown wary of what many see as a grueling work culture. Commonplace at many tech firms and startups are demands for people to work nearly double or more the number of hours in a typical work week.

Interest in "lying flat" has exploded on social media and attracted the interest of censors, who in some cases have restricted the use of the term. Several state media outlets have also pushed back against the conversation, suggesting that young people should strive to work hard instead.

This type of phenomenon, though, isn't limited to China. Across East Asia, young people say they've become exhausted by the prospect of working hard for seemingly little reward.

In South Korea, young people are giving up on marriage and home ownership. In Japan, they are so pessimistic about the country's future that they are eschewing material possessions.

"Young people are very burnt out," said Lim Woon-taek, a professor of sociology at Keimyung University in South Korea. "They don't know why they have to work so hard."

As more young people grow frustrated with relentless pressure, they say they want to and in some cases are giving up conventional rites of passage, such as getting married or having children.

Where the young people just want to lie flat

Li spent every day in high school studying. On his college entrance exam, his score placed him in the top 0.37% among all high school seniors in Shandong province. He's studying for his master's degree at one of the top three law schools in China, and was hoping to get a job at a prestigious international law firm based in Beijing.

But when he applied for graduate jobs and internships in March, he got rejected from more than 20 international law firms in China. Instead, he settled for a trainee position at a domestic law firm.

"The competition between me and other interns was so intense," said Li. "When I see those students who are still trying to go to prestigious international law firms, I feel exhausted and unwilling to contend with them anymore."

The "tang ping" lifestyle has started to resonate with him, he said. Tired of trying to get to the top, Li has decided to "lie flat" by doing the bare minimum at his internship.

"Many people who were better than me were working harder than me, so I felt anxious," he said. "'Tang ping' is … contending with the status quo, not being ambitious, not working so hard."

Supporters of the phrase have also developed a philosophy that extends beyond the initial Baidu post. In one group on the social platform Douban, someone posted a manifesto describing the characteristics of the "tang ping" lifestyle.

"I will not marry, buy a house or have children, I will not buy a bag or wear a watch," the "lying flat manifesto" read. "I will slack off at work … I am a blunt sword to boycott consumerism."

That group was eventually banned this spring, after attracting thousands of participants. A hashtag for the term was also censored on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

The pressures facing young people in China are high. A record 9.09 million students graduated from university or college this year, according to data from China's Ministry of Education.

Even after finding jobs, many workers have bemoaned intense work schedules, especially at major tech firms. The culture, known as "996," refers to working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. The excessive work culture was blasted by China's top court on Thursday. It called out companies across a range of industries it said violated labor rules, including an unnamed courier firm that told employees to work 996 hours.

A lot of young people are working for such companies, according to Terence Chong, an associate professor of economics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

"If you cannot see any hope, then you want to 'tang ping.'TERENCE CHONG, AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AT THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

"They compete with each other," he said. So even if not everyone wants to work such hours, they may feel compelled to do so to keep up.

Those stresses aren't limited to the tech sector. Tony Tang a 36-year-old university professor in Guangdong said he was tired from working 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

"I think I'm too overworked," said Tang, who requested to be referred to by the pseudonym Tony Tang because he was afraid of facing repercussions for his views. "They just regard working hard as one kind of things for Chinese people to do."

The rising cost of housing is adding to the pressure. As measured by square meter, the average cost of a unit in a residential building in Beijing more than doubled in the six years to 2019, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics. Over the same period, the average annual disposable income in the city increased 66%.

"No matter how hard they work, it is very difficult to buy a house," said Chong of CUHK. "In a society where you see some hope there, if you work hard, then you can … buy a house and so on, then you can work hard. But the thing is if you cannot see any hope, then you want to 'tang ping.'"

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob must renounce the transport ministry’s cabotage policy for the sake of the country’s digital future, says DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

The Bagan MP said Ismail should show that he is different from his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin by prioritising national interests over personal and political matters.

In a statement, he called for Ismail to reinstate the cabotage exemption policy to secure the nation’s digital future, and encourage high-tech digital companies like Facebook and Google not to entirely bypass but to return to Malaysia.

He claimed that transport minister Wee Ka Siong’s policy had “jeopardised digital investments of between RM12 billion to RM15 billion” and led the country to miss out on key undersea cable infrastructure projects undertaken by overseas companies.

“With the government’s own Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chairman openly castigating Wee for his incompetence and policy failure, why is Wee so stubborn in refusing to heed to reason for the sake of the digital future of our young?”

According to Lim, many in the digital industry had hoped a new transport minister could revoke the cabotage exemption after Muhyiddin’s Cabinet resigned, but this hope was crushed when Wee was reappointed to the transport portfolio on Friday.

In the latest development to the cabotage saga, Facebook and Google’s new subsea cable, aimed at boosting regional connectivity, would bypass Malaysia entirely.

Facebook had said in a statement that the cable system, expected to launch in 2024, would provide an initial design capacity of more than 190tbps (terrabytes per second) to meet rising data demand in the region and support the upcoming Echo and Bifrost cables, which also will not connect to Malaysia.

• Malaysian startups have shown highest investment to return ratio in the region
• Founders must discard mild personalities, communicate beyond-horizon growth plans

So much has been said and written about the vast potential of the Malaysian tech ecosystem and for all the right reasons.

Within ASEAN, Malaysia was one of the first countries to invest in the Digital Economy with the establishment of multiple government agencies, seeding policies, industry blueprints and development acceleration programs. Coupled with its multicultural society, ease of adoption in digital economy services and a well-exposed middle class, the nation has always been a prime destination for Asian and MNC organisations to expand their business footprints. Microsoft, Intel, NTT, Dell and Sony for example have all established Line-Of-Business hubs in Malaysia

And yet, it seems that Malaysia has been lagging behind in technology investments in recent years. In 2019-2020 a mere US$362 million (RM1.51 billion) was invested in Malaysian startups - a number dwarfed by Indonesia’s US$5.63 billion and Singapore’s US$1.47 billion. Neighbouring countries Thailand and Vietnam with lesser ICT investments in the past - attracted significantly more venture and growth capital in the same period. More troubling is how many venture investors seem to view Malaysia as an opportunistic investment market rather than a key focus of their investment mandate.
[RM1 = US$0.239]

It is also the case that until very recently, Malaysia has found laying claim to having its own “Unicorn” a privately owned startup whose investment valuation is in excess of US$1 billion to be elusive, in comparison to ASEAN neighbours Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam. “Unicorn” badging brings all-round confidence (perhaps part hubris) to budding tech ecosystems, and the resultant halo effect drives further distance in the funding disparities in these markets.

Malaysian tech startup founders also have a tendency to be Malaysia market self-sufficient reflected as “timid” and “lacking boldness” in their expansion plans to non-Malaysian investors. Often, their initial focus on rooting in Malaysia’s 32.7 million population becomes a permanent preoccupation. The Malaysian market, whilst of decent size by traditional measures, cannot fully realise the potential of the digital economy era in drawing the hub-spoke power of various Cloud, SaaS and Platform services available as compared to the captive build of US$1 billion businesses for Indonesia startups’ 266.6 million, 16,000-island playground, or the scaling mindset of Singaporean founders who aim to go regional, if not global from Day 1.

All that said, we have witnessed green shoots in the last few months. Bright spots have dotted the Malaysian startup landscape: Fave’s US$45 million acquisition by Pine Labs, impending entries of Carsome and Aerodyne into unicorn status, AirAsia’s superapp plans kicking into high gear and of course Grab a Malaysian born and incubated startup listing on a SPAC to a reported value of up to US$40 billion. Malaysia’s tech ecosystem is finally coming of age, and this is the moment to unlock Malaysia’s Underrated, Untapped and Unknown Unicorns-in-making.
Underrated

For all the concerns about the ability of the Malaysian ecosystem to create winning companies, Malaysian startups have shown the highest investment to return ratio in the region more than double that of Singapore, and nearly 10x more than its neighbours across the Straits of Malacca in Indonesia. Perhaps a byproduct of being handicapped in raising foreign funds and expanding regionally, Malaysian startups seem to have found ways to develop businesses with good business models with a focus on profitability.

Malaysian founders have demonstrated their resourcefulness in leveraging corporate partnerships beyond proof of concept projects, and as well lobbied for government support grants and other benefits to sustainably grow their businesses and ecosystem. It would seem that this approach has yielded benefits during liquidity events such as IPOs.

Furthermore, local startups have access to a diverse and skilled talent pool. A result of years of development in the ecosystem thanks to entities such as Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre, Cradle Fund and Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation.

With Covid-19 testing the best of founders, the years of development work by these entities will now bear fruit as the Malaysian founders demonstrate their mettle in more equitable environments compared to their regional counterparts.

Untapped

In the eyes of many investors, Malaysia’s ecosystem is indeed a diamond in the rough chock full of ideas and potential and awaiting the right and timely stimulus to be the birthplace of thousands of successful startups. Beyond financial investment, the key to unlocking this potential is matching timely guidance at the various stages of founding to ensure that their startups are investor-mindset ready. Targeted coaching with regional and global mindsets will provide these startups with a good footing when branching out beyond Malaysian shores.

Malaysian startups need a strong go to market ethos, with a focus on scaling their models beyond the founding market borders. Many follow-on investors look to Malaysian startups who have successfully proven that they can build a business in another market as a signal of viability and investability. The need to go regional from the moment of inception is non negotiable.

Finally, corporate Malaysia needs to play its part in supporting the startup ecosystem. It is one thing for the government to catalyze growth through grants, tax breaks and other benefits but in the long run corporations must play a role in creating an environment for startups to develop long term collaborations that could lead to investments or acquisitions. It is encouraging to see companies such as Sunway Group, Petronas, Axiata and AirAsia be active in the startup space but more corporates should follow suit.

Unknown

There are thousands of Malaysian founders who are building profitable technology companies in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kuching and in other cities. Official startup estimates state that there are around 3,000 startups in Malaysia. However the number can be significantly higher. Many of these companies are structured as small medium enterprises that use technology to reach their audience. It is unfortunate that these companies don’t rise to prominence but this is the opportunity for Malaysia to turn these companies into high growth venture backed startups that can grow regionally and beyond.

Malaysian founders, too, should do their part. They need to shake off their mild mannered personalities and communicate their beyond-horizon growth plans when speaking to regional partners and investors. In many cases when they do, they achieve breakout success such as the likes of Tony Fernandes, Patrick Grove, Anthony Tan, Joel Neoh, Eric Cheng and Kamarul Muhamed. Malaysian founders will be perceived as good as how they perceive themselves.

In fact, the most recent Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) produced by the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI) in 2019, which aims to provide a holistic assessment of the entrepreneurial foundation of countries and allow for normalized comparisons, shows Malaysia in a promising light. Amongst its regional peers, Malaysia scores the second highest at 40.1, behind Singapore (52.4) and ahead of Thailand with a corresponding score of 33.5.

Unlocking Malaysia’s Potential

We believe that the recent round of promising news from the ecosystem is not just a random occurrence but rather the beginning of the emergence of Malaysia as a startup heavyweight in ASEAN. It is the culmination of years of investment by the government, returning entrepreneurs, industry veterans and investors. This is the moment to double down.

To ensure that the Malaysian ecosystem maintains this trajectory, intervention is required to ensure that ascendant startups have the right perspective and focus to achieve meaningful growth. With strategic capital, coaching and effective go to market strategies we believe we can uncover gems in this ascendant ecosystem.

And this provided the impetus for Quest Ventures and ScaleUp Malaysia to come together in 2020 - the first significant investment program by an international VC into Malaysia. We have made a concerted effort over the last year to focus on grooming and developing startups in Malaysia, leveraging the experience of both teams and their ecosystems. Quest Venture’s involvement in ScaleUp Malaysia’s program brought not only foreign direct investment into the companies in ScaleUp Malaysia’s Cohort 2 but also served as a catalyst for a shift in the mindset in participating founders. Companies were coached in the program on multiple and concurrent market access, pricing strategies and best practices when speaking to investors. Accessing a regional network of businesses, investors and partners in ASEAN, China, India and Central Asia has provided many opportunities for collaboration and has forced our entrepreneurs to benchmark themselves on a global stage instead of simply being local heroes.

As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic morass it has wrought on the global economy, Malaysian startups have an opportunity to lead from the front. ScaleUp Malaysia and Quest Ventures aim to continue to be the port of call for startups in Malaysia who want to become breakout success stories. As Cohort 3 begins, we aim to build on the strong foundation we started in Cohort 2 - with a laser focus on finding Malaysia’s next big success story. We welcome you to join us on this journey!

This is the moment for Malaysia’s startups to be unleashed.

The Communications and Multimedia Ministry ( KKMM ) will work together with the Kelantan government and come up with fresh initiatives to develop the digital economy sector in the state.

The initiative would be a joint effort between the state government, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), he said, adding that further talks would commence soon.

“This effort requires an orderly blueprint to enable entrepreneurship development in Kelantan as it is known as a state that has many talented traders and enterprises, such as craft or other domestic industries that by right should be penetrating world markets.

“This will be done by fully utilising the digital economy which has now taken hold globally. As such, Kelantan must also seize these opportunities available as it already has potential and entrepreneurship prowess,” he told reporters after a meeting with the ministry’s state coordinating committee at Wisma Persekutuan here today.

The two-hour-long meeting, among others, discussed current developments of ministry programmes at the state level, including the National Digital Network (JENDELA).Annuar said phase one of Jendela, which is actively being implemented currently, will focus on upgrading and improving broadband access throughout Kelantan, including Orang Asli villages, in line with the concept that internet access must be considered a human right. headtopics.com

“Phase one of Jendela in Kelantan as of this August, involves the completion of 24 telecommunication towers, 870 upgraded 4G transmitter equipment and 21,867 consumer premises or homes that now have fibre-optic connectivity.”This process will continue with 67 new towers to be upgraded with 408 new 4G transmitters, allowing fibre-optic connections to another 33,077 premises starting this September and to be completed next year,” he said.

Besides this, he said phase one also involves the construction of 18 satellite broadband facilities in the rural areas of Kelantan.Separately, he also urged broadcasting and information agencies nationwide to improve efforts to disseminate information on programmes implemented by the government so that they could be delivered more accurately and quickly.

“The ministry believes there is room for improvement not only in Kelantan but throughout the country as well to review usual practices in the effort to improve the effectiveness of information delivery,” he said.

• New report analyses and ranks 140 countries by their digital competitiveness over the last three years.
• Countries which top the ‘Digital Riser’ list are implementing bold public-private partnerships to foster innovation and entrepreneurship.
• The results show that advances in digital transformation don’t always come from the most obvious places.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that digital technologies determine not only whether or not countries thrive, but also how well they are able to navigate trying times. Applied effectively, digital technologies not only enable education and work to move from schools and offices to the home, but they also provide increasingly efficient ways to organize processes in companies and governments.

New technologies such as 3D printing, augmented and virtual reality, sensors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and robotics also have the potential to disrupt nearly any industry. The competitivess of nations in these technologies will determine how prosperous their countries will be in the decades ahead.

Against this background, we analysed how countries digital competitiveness developed in the last three years. In the new edition of the Digital Riser Report from the European Center for Digital Competitiveness by ESCP Europe Business School, we have analysed the digital competitiveness of 140 countries and provide a global ranking that compares them within their regions. We show which countries have lost ground as well as which countries have done well and improved their position relative to their peers. We also highlight what can be learned from the best and analyse the political measures that made the “Digital Risers” successful.

Within the G7, Canada was able to advance most in its relative digital competitiveness between 2018 and 2020, which makes the country our top Digital Riser in this group; conversely, Japan and Germany decreased most within the G7. Italy was able to improve its position in the G7 from last place in the previous year to second place in 2021.

Within the G20, the ranking reveals strong dynamics also regarding the two global digital superpowers: China gained significantly in digital competitiveness, while the US lost out over the same time period, mainly driven by the ecosystem dimension in our ranking. The top three Digital Risers in the G20 have been China followed by Saudi Arabia and Brazil; India, Japan and Germany came last.

The report analyses and ranks the changes that countries around the globe have seen in their digital competitiveness over the last three years. It measures the two core dimensions of digital competitiveness, the country’s ecosystem and its mindset based on data from the Global Competitiveness Report issued by the World Economic Forum, as well as supporting data provided by the World Bank and the International Telecommunication Union.

The report analyses the progress of 140 countries along mindset and ecosystem dimensions as well as the absolute, accumulated change in ranks between 2018 and 2020. Countries were analysed and compared relative to their peers in terms of regions (i.e. Europe and North America) or group membership (i.e. G20), to ensure the comparability of results relative to a comparative baseline.

There are two major differences between the Global Competitiveness Report and the Digital Riser Report. First, whereas the Global Competitiveness Report analyses the countries’ overall competitiveness, the Digital Riser Report analyses their digital competitiveness only as indicated by their digital ecosystem and mindset. Second, whereas the Global Competitiveness Report analyses changes over a one-year timeframe, the Digital Riser Report showcases how countries have fared during the last three years.

As in last year’s report, we have analysed two factors: how much progress countries have made relative to their global peers in the last three years, and the best practices of the top Digital Risers in their respective region or group. We thus highlight developments and initiatives that may inform political decision-makers around the world on which practices to implement, based on what has proven successful in their region and beyond. Here is a summary of the best practices the Digital Risers share:

1) They follow comprehensive plans with ambitious goals
China for example has implemented a comprehensive push for entrepreneurship and innovation. With its China 2025 initiative, it provides state support for 10 key sectors in which it aims to become a world leader. Other nations have also formulated ambitious visions for their digital future: Vietnam wants its digital economy to account for 30% of GDP by 2030, and Hungary has defined its goal to become one of the 10 leading countries in digital technologies in Europe by the end of the decade. But the successful Digital Risers also launch concrete initiatives to support these goals. Italy for instance has started “Repubblica Digitale”, a new programme to overcome the digital divide, promote digital inclusion and strengthen the development of digital skills among citizens.

2) They focus on entrepreneurship
Brazil for example has initated various public and public-private efforts to stimulate entrepreneurship in the country such as the “InovAtiva Brasil” programme, “StartOut Brasil” and the National Committee of Start-Up Support Initiatives. In Egypt, the government has supported the development of six technology parks to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Also the Canadian government has invested over $1.2 billion in so-called “Innovation Superclusters” to accelerate business-driven innovation, with the potential to energise the economy.

However, our report also shows a growing divide in the speed of digital transformation. In Europe, a two-speed transformation continues. As in last year’s report, France made significant advances in its digital competitiveness while Germany lost quite substantially during the same time period. But digital progress is possible around the globe when the right measures are implemented. While Digital Risers such as Canada and Georgia might not come not directly to mind when it comes to digital, these countries demonstrate that acceleration in the speed of digital transformation can be achieved in companies and governments.

Andrew Korybko is a Moscow-based American political analyst. The article reflects the author’s views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

The 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) opened in Beijing on September 2nd and will run until September 7th. Over 10,000 enterprises from over 150 countries and regions are participating in a mix of online and offline formats.

CIFTIS is one of the largest economic events since the start of last year’s COVID-19 pandemic and the only fair that comprehensively covers the 12 sectors of trade and services as defined by the World Trade Organization. This year’s CIFTIS aims to revitalize globalization by promoting the digital economy as its primary engine.

Chinese President Xi Jinping proved how important this fair is by taking time out of his busy schedule to address its attendees by video briefly. Although it was only for a few minutes, it contained a wealth of important information directly relevant to the conference’s theme of a digital future and service-driven development.

The Chinese leader’s most headline grabbing announcement pertained to his country’s plans to open up a new Beijing Stock Exchange to assist innovation-driven small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

President Xi highlighted the crucial role that such companies will play in continuing his country’s trend of opening up. Some of them will likely participate in the digital trade pilot zones that he announced will also be set up across the country.

Speaking of China’s nationwide focus on the digital economy, the state also plans to align domestic rules with those followed by high-standard international free trade agreements. All of this will accelerate China’s process of opening up and complement its dual circulation new development paradigm.

That strategy will greatly be aided by prioritizing the cross-border services trade across the country in parallel with scaling up support for the service sector in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries. The long-term vision articulated by President Xi is one where China becomes the leader of the world’s digital economy.

It already has the second-largest one outside of the U.S., but its potential is much more promising since it’s been gradually reforming its policies while America has been moving in the opposite direction since the trade war.

The China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) is being held from September 2nd to September 7th in Beijing, China. /Xinhua

China has rightly been regarded as “the world’s factory” due to the crucial role that it played in the Third Industrial Revolution, but it nowadays aspires to play an equally pivotal one in the emerging Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Also known as Industry 4.0, it involves the cutting-edge interconnected technologies of the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and robotics, among others. Many existing industries are also migrating to the digital space in order to protect people’s health.

The 4IR’s most basic infrastructure consists of (ideally green) power plants, 5G technology, supercomputers, information-communication technology (ICT) gadgets, and online applications. China is among the world leaders in each of these industries. It also has a larger market than any other country, which is extremely attractive for foreign service providers.

These economic characteristics complement its new development paradigm of dual circulation and make it the natural place to host the world’s leading trade in services fair.

CIFTIS’s significance will surely grow in the post-pandemic world as more companies and countries embrace the digital economy. It’s only a matter of time before it becomes one of the world’s most eagerly awaited yearly events. China’s global BRI network enables it to connect everyone else together much more closely and effectively than any other country is capable of doing, including digitally. This will help its many Global South partners with their much-needed development.

Those who proclaimed the death of globalization at the onset of last year’s pandemic have been proven wrong by CIFTIS. President Xi is certain that globalization will continue, albeit in a different form, as everything becomes more digital.

China is at the center of these 4IR-connected processes that are of importance for the entire global economy. The country is aware of its pioneering economic responsibilities to the international community, which is why it’s hosting CIFTIS in order to facilitate their growing trade in services.

INTRODUCTION

1. I would like to thank the World Bank Group for organizing this dialogue session on the digital economy as the new driver of growth. I am pleased to share Malaysia’s achievements on this front as well as our future initiatives here today

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN MALAYSIA

2. As of 2018, Malaysia has a internet penetration rate of 85.7%. This fares very well in a region where the penetration rate hovers at approximately 60%.

3. We expect the national penetration rate to rise further as Malaysia improves its digital infrastructure to provide reliable and ultrafast broadband internet service, which is essential to unlocking the potentials of our digital economy. We have also launched the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) to spur the digital economy and accelerate the development of broadband infrastructure.

4. But Malaysia is not just focusing on the hard infrastructure. Upon coming to power last year, the new Government has reformed the national broadband service industry and made the market structure work better for the consumers. New policy was put in place to increase competition and drive down costs while providing faster internet speed for the population. The availability of affordable high-quality internet is enabling the rapid expansion of the digital economy, and contributes to creating an inclusive high-quality growth for all Malaysians.

DIGITALISATION OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES

5. The Malaysian digital economy on average had grown 9% annually in value-added terms between 2010 to 2016. This is faster than Malaysia’s overall GDP growth, highlighting its role as a source of expansion. Furthermore, the International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that by 2022, over 21% of Malaysia’s GDP will be digitalised against the current level of 18%.

6. The rapid growth in the digital economy is partly attributable to heavy government investment into the sector. The Malaysian government is modernizing and digitalising its systems and processes throughout various agencies and departments. This has increased government productivity through the efficient use of resources, easier access to information as well as wider and quicker service reach.

7. On the ground at the concrete level, the digitalisation of government services has cut lines and raised the level of customers’ satisfaction of government services. Today, the issuance of Malaysian passports are done within an hour whereas before it required a whole frustrating day. Meanwhile, vehicle insurance and road-tax can be made online and delivery to the customers’ doorstep within 24 hours is possible.

8. These are only two examples of government service digitalisation that simplify processes and improve the quality of life of ordinary people. These digitalisation successes have contributed to Malaysia scoring highly in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report. In 2019, the World Bank placed Malaysia 15th among 190 economies in terms of ease of doing business.

ENCOURAGING DIGITALISATION IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR

9. The Government is not merely digitalising itself but it is also facilitating the private sector to do the same. In our 2019 Budget, Malaysia introduced several schemes worth billions of ringgit either through the provision of outright grants or financing guarantee programs for Malaysian companies to encourage digitalisation in the economy.

10. Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in particular need support from the Government because they otherwise might not have the necessary resources to embark on digitalisation compared to large corporations. The digitalisation of SMEs is important in Malaysia because 9 out of 10 business establishments in the country are SMEs, which provided twothirds of total jobs in the Malaysian economy, while contributing to 37% of the GDP in 2017.

E-COMMERCE AS A DRIVER OF DIGITALISATION

11. But in the private sector, it is really the continuous rise of e-commerce that is driving the digitalisation exercise. In Malaysia, the share of ecommerce in the national GDP had risen from 5.9% (RM68.3 billion or USD17.5 billion) in 2015 to 6.1% (RM74.6 billion or USD18.1 billion) in 2016.

12. Additionally, the fintech sector has been expanding rapidly in Malaysia. There are close to 200 fintech companies serving the Malaysian market now, comprising of e-payment and mobile wallet providers, products and insurance aggregators, e-Know Your Customer (e-KNY) solutions and many other areas. Regulatory policies and actions to promote fintech initiatives are already in place and mainly focused on creating enabling regulatory environment, spearheading and pursuing new technological enablers, and keeping abreast of latest development in fintech through regular engagements with players in the fintech industry.

13. I am proud to say that Malaysia has contributed to regional digital innovation through high-profile successes like Grab, iflix and Fave. However, the Government understands that the economy might not have the sufficient support system for budding entrepreneurs in the digital space. This has unfortunately contributed to the Malaysian brain drain as talent go elsewhere to further develop their ideas.

14. To address this, the Malaysian government through the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has established Malaysia Digital Hub that consists of multiple co-working spaces acting as community nodes for entrepreneurs to obtain support such as market access, intellectual property protection, access to investor and talent upskilling. This digital hub also enables startups and communities to get relevant support from the government and a greater opportunity to connect to ASEAN and the global digital ecosystem.

15. In addition to that, our central bank in collaboration with United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and MDEC have recently launched the Digital Finance Innovation Hub to further support the financial inclusion of Malaysia’s middle and low-income groups. This Hub serves as an enabler for service providers, including financial institutions and fintech start-ups, to use technology in promoting inclusive finance, through the introduction of products and services that meet the needs of the underserved in Malaysia. The hub also seeks to build a community of innovative and resourceful developers and collectively work towards Malaysia’s financial inclusion goals.

CHALLENGES BROUGHT BY DIGITALISATION

16. While digitalisation is welcomed, it is not without its challenges. Digitalisation and other associated Industry 4.0 trends like automation are disrupting the existing economy, creating a lot of winners but also some losers. It is the role of the Government to ensure the losers are aided in transitioning into the new economy.

17. One important disruption revolves around job losses. The World Economic Forum estimates that about 75 million jobs may be displaced globally by a shift in the division of labour between humans and machines, while 133 million new roles may emerge that are more adapted to the new division of labour between humans, machines and algorithms by 2022. One way of addressing this is by reskilling those elbowed out of the labour market to fill new jobs for new sectors that still requires human presence to operate. However, such reskilling exercise could be costly and it would require a public and private sector partnership (PPP) to make this happen. Governments alone would not be able to foot the bill for reskilling programs, nor are they equipped with the comprehensive experience and infrastructure for an effective outcome.

18. The digital economy is expected to bring about dislocation and even disappearance of existing jobs with the hope that it will be replaced by new jobs brought about by the new technological revolution – a nature and consequence of creative destruction. Whilst some may say this creative destruction is an unavoidable consequence of new technology, such creative destruction is neither politically, economically nor socially tenable. Any so-called “creative destruction” brought about by the onset of the digital economy that leads to social upheaval will be rejected by my government.

19. Instead of creative destruction, the Malaysian government prefers to look at the challenges of the digital economy resulting in job losses as a form of digital disruption that can and must be contained. The Malaysian government is considering providing income supplements to encourage employers to employ workers who cannot find jobs that pays a living wage, to mitigate the digital disruption. Digital taxes or benefits from economic growth brought about by the new digital economy must sustain part of the old economy so that we can engineer a gentler, softer and kinder landing. In short, the digital economy need not be a threat or cruel if the government can adopt gentler, softer and kinder policies that are sustainable and embrace its benefits.

20. Another challenge involves taxation. In Malaysia, the digital economy has thrived in a largely tax-free environment, while the old economy is burdened by taxes. Indeed, the shift from the physical economy to the digital economy has partly contributed to the erosion of the Government’s revenue base. In Malaysia, our government revenue has slowly fallen from 21.4% of GDP in 2012 to 16.3% of GDP in 2017. Continued digitalisation, which is unstoppable, will no doubt narrow the base further and will eventually hurt the Government’s ability to provide its basic functions in an ever bigger and more complex economy. It is this recognition that has convinced Malaysia to introduce our first digital tax in 2020. If successful, it could be a model for other countries to emulate.

Ladies and gentlemen,

CONCLUSION

21. While we embrace the emergence of digital economy, any form disruption must be creative and sustainable to the economy. In this regard, the main focus for Governments will be on the 3As – Availability, Accessibility and Acceptability in ensuring a prosperous and enriching habitat for the people while encouraging a move towards an entrepreneurial state where everyone can be an entrepreneur in their own ways in this digital age. The new avenue of entrepreneurship would help countries to escape the middle-income trap, which is bedevilling so many economies today including ours.

22. Malaysia will continue to work on a sustainable development of our digital economy. Main obstacles associated with digital connectivity, entrepreneurship and taxation will be addressed tactfully. We currently see an increase in investors’ interest in digital economy areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data Analytics (BDA), Internet of Things (IoT) and cybersecurity, which calls for the support of the Government through appropriate steps and measures to unlock the potential of the economy and spur its growth.

23. An entrepreneurial state that embraces the digital economy can allow a country like Malaysia to escape the middle-income trap and graduate to a high-income economy status. The days of government knows best, especially in managing new technology or charting our digital future, is long gone. In fact, governments are seen as impediments towards fully embracing the digital future. For this reason, governments must seek out partnerships not just with the public sector, but also with professionals and the people in large to get public buy-in. This 4P partnership involving the public sector, private sector, professional groups and the people involving all stakeholders can provide some form of guarantees against public policy failure by well-meaning but clueless bureaucrats. The government should take a back seat, focus on providing a transparent regulatory environment that offers a level playing field, provide matching grants to such enterprises but invest in critical research and development that the private sector is unable or unwilling to undertake.

24. We are committed to introduce enabling policies as the new driver of development which will put Malaysia as an attractive prospect for high technology and high-value-added digital economy and industries in the region. The policies will outline the roles of the Government as an enabler in driving and catalysing the digital transformation in the related sectors and services, not limited to only encouraging adoption, but also enhancing innovative capabilities in creating home-grown technologies, products and services.

25. Ladies and gentlemen, with that once again I would like to thank the World Bank Group (WBG) for organizing this Malaysia Hub event and I wish you all a meaningful panel discussion.

A new central bank system to control the flow and exchange of money dovetails into Beijing’s big tech crackdown.

China’s financial system is changing. The country’s new Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) a digital payment and processing network run by the Central Bank of China and its digital currency, the digital yuan (e-CNY), is expected to completely replace physical cash. Unveiled in 2019, the DCEP began its trial in April 2020 and has been slowly rolled out in major cities including Shanghai, Chengdu and Beijing. Its cautious implementation illustrates how seriously the Chinese government is taking the DCEP project.

A digital currency is money that only exists as electronic data. While it can be used just like regular money, it has no physical form and transactions can be sent from any place and received in any location in the world. The key distinction between digital currencies and more infamous cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, is in their use of blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies use blockchains to remain decentralised and anonymous, avoiding the need for a supervisory authority. Digital currencies use blockchain as well, but they operate with a centralised authority and require user identification. The DCEP features “controllable anonymity” that is tracked and requires users to download and register to an app on their smartphone. This centralisation means that China’s government has the ability to freeze and close accounts something that is nearly impossible to achieve with the more democratic cryptocurrencies. The centralised system also allows users to rectify mistakes made when using or transferring digital currency, again a feature that is virtually non-existent with cryptocurrency.

The long-term potential of the digital yuan will be its ability to subvert the power of the American dollar.

In the West, the project has caused concern. The Wall Street Journal said the DCEP was “a point of anxiety in Washington”, and Wired called the digital currency a “warning to the world”. There are good reasons to be cautious of a digital yuan. First, it gives the Chinese government increased surveillance powers over its citizens and private companies. Second, it has the potential to supplant the dominance of the US dollar in the international economy. However, the current low status of the RMB means that even a digitised version will find it difficult to budge the power of the mighty US greenback.

At present, the DCEP is a domestic product within China and discussions in Chinese media about the internationalisation of the system are limited. Attention is instead focused on how the digital currency will support the domestic retail market and the e-commerce industry, particularly as the economic rebound from the Covid pandemic has slowed.

More likely, the long-term potential of the digital yuan will be its ability to subvert the power of the American dollar by enabling countries sanctioned by the United States, such as Iran, North Korea and possibly Afghanistan, to conduct greater business with China. One of the benefits of the dollar’s dominance is that any American sanctions are brutal on their target economies. Countries close to China could use the DCEP and alleviate the burdens imposed by sanctions. It will also challenge the ability of the United States to enforce international trade penalties against Chinese companies, such as Huawei and Douyin (the version of TikTok in China). By operating within the margins of international finance, the digital currency also has the potential to reach less developed regions outside China.

DCEP has one important advantage over other currency systems its digital wallets don’t require an internet connection to be accessed via smart phone.

China is well suited to the adoption of a digital currency thanks to the current widespread use of similar products, including WeChat Pay and Alipay. These digital payment systems are among the most widely used in the world. In major cities like Beijing, these methods of transferring money are so common, and physical cash so rare, that beggars on the street carry laminated QR codes to receive donations. This total societal adoption of the technology speaks to the potential of DCEP. However, DCEP has one important advantage over other currency systems – its digital wallets don’t require an internet connection to be accessed via smart phone.

A key motivator in the Chinese government’s push for DCEP and its digital currency is that in the country’s leap into the digital economy, tech companies such as Tencent and Ant Group have gained greater financial power. As the government continues to clamp down on tech firms, implementing new laws designed to curtail private companies’ control of cash flow and the collection of personal data, future development of Alipay and WeChat Pay is likely to become forestalled. The DCEP is expected to overtake these payment systems, and in doing so, limit the power wielded by China’s major tech firms. Although the tech crackdown surprised global investors, its rapid implementation and the readiness of projects such as the DCEP show that the government had been planning the move for some time.

The DCEP is a long-term project for the Chinese government, and its meticulous rollout demonstrates how seriously Beijing takes its goal of controlling its financial sector. The system offers rich potential for China’s economic expansion, but the future plans for the internationalisation of the digital currency rely on how the domestic market adapts. It promises both a way to strengthen and regulate China’s economy, but in so doing increases the heavy hand of central government control.

Data and technology will be among the key elements in charting Malaysia’s economic recovery post-Covid-19 pandemic, said Finance Minister and National Recovery Plan (NRP) Coordinating Minister, Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

He said the government will harness the power of data to help the country become more agile and responsive, underscored by the spirit of inclusivity towards better resilience and shared prosperity.

Tengku Zafrul noted that the Digital Economy Blueprint, or MyDIGITAL, is critical in driving the business sector to compete in the global arena, as it addresses both digital infrastructure and the digital ecosystem.

“The former includes investments through the National Digital Network (Jendela) project, investments to strengthen connectivity to the international submarine cable network until 2023, as well as a 10-year plan for the implementation of 5G nationwide and in cloud services,” he said.

In a special address during the virtually-held National Recovery Summit today, he said that the efforts also include strengthening the digital ecosystem, supporting digital adoption as well as privacy and data protection.

As for the country’s 5G aspirations, he said the government is also accelerating the development and growth of high-speed, affordable and reliable 5G connectivity and coverage.

“We will kick-start Phase 1 with 10 per cent 5G coverage in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya by end-2021.

“Phase 1b will cover approximately 40 per cent coverage in major cities in Selangor, Johor, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak by end-2022, followed by the rest of the country in stages with 100 per cent national coverage targeted by 2024,” he said.

Combined, these measures will address the near-term efforts to place Malaysia’s reopening on a stronger footing while ensuring that the nation is well-positioned to take full advantage of the megatrends of tomorrow in the mid and longer-term, he said.

Tengku Zafrul also expressed his hope that the NRP and Budget 2022 would serve as a template, not just on how to exit the pandemic, but also on how to navigate the more pressing challenges that lie ahead.

“To that end, I call on all parties, government, private sector and civil society organisations to come together as one ‘Keluarga Malaysia’. Let's come together, and win together,” he added.

More than two decades ago, India began its transformation into a global IT powerhouse, ushering in an era of wealth and job creation never before seen in the country.

Now, Asia's third largest economy is ready for the next big frontier in tech: Coming up with a new generation of software companies like Zoom or Slack.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced business around the world to make huge investments in digital infrastructure, furthering the influence of companies providing software as a service, or SaaS. Businesses spent an extra $15 billion per week last year on tech as they scrambled to create safe remote working environments, according to a KPMG survey.

SaaS companies provide web-based applications that take care of everything from how secure the software is to how well it performs. Some of the world's most well-known SaaS companies include Zoom (ZM), SAP Concur and Salesforce (CRM), the American behemoth that owns workplace messaging app Slack.

India's software as a service industry could be worth $1 trillion in value by 2030 and create nearly half a million new jobs, according to a recent report compiled by consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and SaaSBoomi, a community of industry leaders.

There are nearly a thousand such companies in India, of which 10 are unicorns, or startups worth at least $1 billion, the report said.

"This can be as big an opportunity as the IT services industry was in the 90s," said Girish Mathrubootham, CEO of Freshworks, India's best-known SaaS company. It filed for an IPO last month, joining a string of other major Indian tech unicorns that are going public this year.

Freshworks was founded more than a decade ago in the southern Indian city of Chennai. Like Salesforce, it provides software to help companies manage relations with their customers. It's also India's oldest unicorn in the sector, having raised funds from investors such as Tiger Global and Accel, and has more than 50,000 customers. The company was last valued at $3.5 billion in a 2019 funding round, according to data firm Tracxn.

Other Indian SaaS firms have found traction by focusing on niche businesses. Zenoti, for example, is a unicorn that builds software for the spa and beauty salon industry.

Of India's 10 SaaS unicorns, six reached that milestone in 2020, and investors around the world are paying attention. Last year, investors pumped $1.5 billion into Indian SaaS companies, four times more than in 2018 or 2019, according to the SaaSBoomi report.

Bullish investors
Investors are excited about SaaS because of the "massive adoption" of software over the last decade, according to Mohit Bhatnagar, managing director of Sequoia Capital India.

While India is a small player in the global SaaS market, investors say the country could eventually dominate the sector because of two things: its vast pool of English-speaking developers, and the relatively low cost of hiring them.

Thanks to the rise of India's IT industry, software engineering has become one of the most sought-after career options in the country.

"India actually has one of the largest developer communities in the world," Bhatnagar told CNN Business. Many of them have worked at some of the biggest global tech companies.

Abhinav Asthana, the co-founder of Postman, pointed to his experience working as an intern at Yahoo in Bengaluru as instrumental in the decision to build his product.

He came up with the idea to build a tool that would simplify the API (Application Programming Interface) testing process. An API is a programming code that defines how two applications communicate with each other, and Postman says it has made it easier for engineers to work together as they design and build their APIs.

"We saw how software was created at these global companies, and we saw API was a key problem," Asthana told CNN Business.

Now, Postman is India's most valuable SaaS unicorn, with a valuation of $5.6 billion.

International clients, Indian engineers
The low cost of operating in India is a big plus. According to a report by consulting firm Bain & Company, the salary of entry-level developers in India is 85% less than their counterparts in the United States.

"If you are building a SaaS company in the US, it is better to have a million-dollar client rather than a $10,000-client because you need to pay for sales and marketing in that country," said Prasanna Krishnamoorthy, managing partner at SaaS accelerator Upekkha. "When you are serving customers from India, you can have these small and mid-sized companies, as well as large ones."

Most SaaS companies focus on global clients, similar to the strategy that was followed by India's IT giants such as TCS and Infosys (INFY). Investors see this as a welcome change, since most of India's oldest unicorns from Flipkart to Paytm have focused primarily on the domestic market.

Almost 98% of Fortune 500 companies use Postman's products, according to Asthana, while Freshworks' first client was based in Australia.

SaaS firms are much better placed to go global than e-commerce companies like India's Flipkart, for example. They write software once, and then are able to use it multiple times.

"For a Flipkart you need billions of dollars [to grow internationally], but for a Freshwork you need much less capital to go global," said Mathrubootham, who is also an investor in Postman. This is because e-commerce firms require a ton of money to set up physical operations elsewhere they have to hire delivery drivers, rent warehouses and buy inventory.

Bhatnagar of Sequoia Capital said that Indian software entrepreneurs "mastered" the art of "remote sales" fairly early. "Honestly, in this last two years, the whole world has had to understand how to do better remote sales," he added.

Despite the euphoria, there are some hurdles Indian companies have to overcome before they can deliver on the $1 trillion promise.

Indian engineers trained in the IT services industry may find it hard to develop the discipline required to build a product-focused company.

In IT services, "you are selling bodies and you say yes to everything the customer says," said Krishnamoorthy. SaaS companies, on the other hand, have to say no to 99% of [potential] customers, he added.

And India's startup ecosytem is still relatively immature when compared to Silicon Valley. Despite the massive size of some homegrown unicorns, Mathrubootham said that the country does not have a "global tech powerhouse product brand."

But he hoped that future SaaS companies can change that.

"It is my personal dream to see India as a product nation," he added.

Amazon is offering to cover four-year college tuition for most of its approximately 750,000 hourly workers in the United States, the latest major employer to offer the perk to attract and retain hourly employees in a tight job market.

Starting in January, Amazon for the first time will pay for tuition, fees and books for warehouse, transportation and other hourly employees who want to pursue bachelor's degrees. It will also begin covering high school diploma programs, GED's and English as a Second Language (ESL) certifications for employees.

Amazon (AMZN) has not finalized a list of colleges workers will be eligible to attend using the benefit.

Amazon employees who have been with the company for at least 90 days are able to use the benefit, and employees must continue working part-time or full-time at Amazon while taking classes. Workers at Whole Foods, which Amazon owns, are not eligible.

Amazon has not offered to cover bachelor's degree programs for its workers in the past, but has an existing benefit for employees that covers tuition costs for two-year associate degrees and certifications at partner schools such as the University of Maryland's online program and Miami Dade College.

Its move to add four-year degrees to its package comes as rival employers such as Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT) beef up their college benefit programs for workers.

Walmart said in July that it was dropping a previous $1 a day tuition fee paid by its workers who want to earn a degree at 10 academic partners and also begin covering the costs of their books. Walmart has around 1.5 million workers.

Target in August said it will pay full tuition and books for its more than 340,000 workers at around 40 partner schools. Target also said it will pay up to $10,000 a year for master's programs within its network of partners.

Amazon's move also comes as retailers and warehouses around the country face challenges hiring employees to staff stores and warehouses. In July, there were 879,000 unfilled jobs in the retail industry and 222,000 in the transportation and warehouse industry, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Amazon said in May that it was hiring 75,000 workers across its logistics network and bumping starting pay from its $15 minimum rate to an average of $17 an hour. The company is also offering sign-on bonuses of up to $1,000 to attract workers.

"We're spending a lot of money on signing and incentives," said Brian Olsavsky, Amazon's chief financial officer, in July. "It's a very competitive labor market out there. And certainly, the biggest contributor to inflationary pressures that we're seeing in the business."

Amazon also announced Thursday that it plans to retrain 300,000 employees for higher-skilled, fast-growing jobs within the company over the next four years, upping a prior pledge it made in 2019 to train 100,000 workers for new positions.

Amazon offers internal retraining programs for roles such as software and IT engineers, data center technicians, and researchers and designers.

As Asean continues to grapple with Covid-19 cases and an uncertain recovery, its economic ministers have committed to conducting a study on a region-wide digital economy pact by 2023.

They also agreed to start negotiations on the Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement by 2025.

A focus on digital transformation to enable the smooth flow of goods and services and data will help ensure the region continues to draw global trade and investments, and better position itself for future growth, Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said at meetings with his counterparts last week.

"Asean remains fully committed to free and open trade and deepening regional economic integration, especially amidst the challenging backdrop posed by Covid-19," he said.

"As the region emerges from the pandemic, it is important to leverage new growth opportunities in areas such as digitalisation and sustainability so that we entrench Asean as an attractive trade and investment proposition for our global partners."

The 53rd Asean Economic Ministers' Meeting was held via video conference on Sept 8 and 9, and will continue from Sept 13 to 15 when the ministers will meet their counterparts from the grouping's key partners, including the United States and China.

At the meeting, chaired by Brunei, which holds the rotating leadership of the grouping this year, the Asean ministers endorsed the Bandar Seri Begawan Roadmap, which sets out an agenda to turn the ongoing pandemic crisis into an opportunity for South-east Asia through digital transformation and greater integration of its digital economy till 2025.

The road map highlights digital initiatives that are expected to boost the region's competitiveness over the immediate and longer term.

These initiatives seek to build a foundation for an Asean digital economy that the ministers described as one "where the seamless and secure flow of goods, services and data is underpinned by enabling rules, regulations, infrastructure and talent".

The Digital Economy Framework Agreement and timeframe are part of this road map.

A digital economy agreement establishes trade rules and facilitates interoperability between the digital systems of two or more economies.

It also supports cross-border flows of data, safeguards personal data and consumer rights, and encourages innovation and cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence.

Singapore has so far negotiated two such agreements: the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement with Chile and New Zealand, and the Singapore-Australia Digital Economy Agreement, both of which were signed last year.

It has also started talks on digital economy agreements with South Korea and Britain.

At their meeting, the Asean ministers acknowledged that e-commerce and digital services are now providing alternative channels for people to continue activities such as working and learning.

To that end, the Workplan on Asean Agreement on E-Commerce, which identifies priority areas to ensure the continued development of electronic commerce in the region, was adopted.

The ministers also took note of the implementation of the Asean Comprehensive Recovery Framework - adopted by leaders at the Asean Summit last November - which serves as an exit plan from the pandemic through five broad strategies around health, human security, economic integration, digital transformation and sustainability.

The moves come at a time when economic recovery across the region remains "fragile" amid a resurgence in Covid-19 cases as new variants emerge and disrupt efforts to reopen borders, the ministers noted.

Nonetheless, the Asean ministers also said that the regional economy is picking up, with gross domestic product in South-east Asia expected to reach 4 per cent this year and 5.2 per cent next year.

In 2020, the Asean economy contracted by 3.3 per cent primarily due to mobility and cross-border travel restrictions.

As the region tries to sustain that recovery, vaccination remains the top priority and continued fiscal and monetary stimulus is necessary to reinforce the economy, the ministers added.

They also said: "Support for vulnerable groups, including informal workers, women and youth, is important to minimise the development gap that has been amplified by the pandemic."

Malaysia’s top investment destination aims to build a robust digital ecosystem by 2025 that will empower businesses, nurture local talent and attract technology leaders from the world over.

Selangor has been Malaysia’s top investment destination for three years running, having received RM18.4 billion (S$5.9 billion) in foreign and domestic investment in the manufacturing sector in 2020 alone.

While its strong manufacturing sector has contributed greatly to this achievement, Selangor is looking to bolster its digital economy in its vision for the future. This is in line with the Smart Selangor Vision 2025, which names four domains – smart government, smart economy, smart community and smart digital infrastructure – as being key to the creation of a thriving digital ecosystem, set to be complete in four years’ time.

“At its core, Smart Selangor is an initiative by the state to empower its people, businesses and the public sector by optimising digital technologies towards delivering the Smart State objectives,” explained Mr Hasan Azhari Idris, chief executive officer of Invest Selangor, the government agency providing advisory services as well as start-up and expansion assistance to investors in the state.

INVESTING IN A DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM

Selangor’s commitment to its digital vision of the future is evident in the slew of initiatives, funding allocations and investments it has made in recent years. Selangor’s 2021 state budget included the allocation of RM369 million – nearly one-third of the state’s development fund – for digital infrastructure initiatives and programmes.

Said Mr Hasan: “One of the programmes is the establishment of the Selangor Innovation Fund, to which RM100 million has been allocated to spur the growth of start-ups in the state through venture capital investments. Another RM5 million was earmarked for the SME Digitalisation Matching Grant, a dedicated initiative to encourage more micro and small businesses in the state to adopt digitalisation in their operations.”

Selangor’s digital efforts are supported by the federal government’s Digital Investment Office (DIO), a fully digital collaboration platform aimed at streamlining the coordination and facilitation of all domestic and foreign digital investment in Malaysia.

Selangor recently unveiled the Selangor Gigabit Network, the Smart Selangor Hybrid Data Centre and local cloud computing initiatives. These, along with factors like dark fibre provision, state-wide high-speed Internet access, power supply redundancy and globally competitive telecommunications tariffs, are helping to make Selangor an attractive destination, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) looking to tap on its high-performing digital infrastructure.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to reshape industries, the Selangor government has helped to onboard scores of traditional retailers onto e-commerce portals like Lazada and Shopee, via its popular E-Bazaar campaign last year and this year. Between April and June, it provided the SME Digitalisation Matching Grant to almost 300 SMEs. The government intends to hold its regional trade and investment summit – the Selangor International Business Summit – in a hybrid mode this year, giving companies the opportunity to engage in valuable networking and collaborative discussions aimed at re-energising their businesses after close to two years of pandemic-related restrictions.

The state’s array of investments is paying off. According to Mr Hasan, Selangor is seeing growing demand for digital investment opportunities in areas such as data centres, cloud computing, cybersecurity and other related business services.

CYBERJAYA, THE HEART OF MALAYSIA’S DIGITAL ASPIRATION

With affordable land costs and an educated, tech-savvy workforce of about 3.6 million people, Selangor has always been a state that businesses have gravitated to. It is also home to Cyberjaya, Malaysia’s centre of innovation and digital transformation that is focused on three technological clusters: Smart mobility, smart healthcare and digital creative.

As a mature tech district, Cyberjaya has played host to numerous international companies and start-ups. Since 2019, Aerodyne, an internationally leading innovative drone solutions company, has made Cyberjaya its home base. As the company expanded, it required a more extensive and supportive infrastructure for drone testing and research and development. Cyberjaya’s existing tech ecosystem, which houses high numbers of drone and robotics companies, allows Aerodyne to engage in strategic industry collaborations in order to catalyse its rapid growth in the aerial mobility space.

Last year, Cyberjaya became home to the Asia Pacific hub of Hematogenix, a cancer research diagnostics firm. Despite the movement restrictions caused by COVID-19, Hematogenix was assisted in its expatriate and immigration issues by tech hub developer Cyberview, Cyberjaya’s landowner. Hematogenix’s choice proved to be the right one, as Cyberjaya’s robust data centre infrastructure allows for the effective processing of large amounts of research data while its proximity to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport ensures efficient sample logistics for the United States-based firm.

Said Mr Hasan: “With its excellent infrastructure to support growth across all areas, attractive incentives, ready and multilingual talent pool as well as a supportive and involved community, Selangor is an attractive proposition for both established regional and global tech businesses and promising start-ups alike to call home.”

CAMBODIA has introduced new rules and procedures governing value-added tax (VAT) on goods and services provided via e-commerce for non-residents.

Its Ministry of Economy and Finance issued the new rules earlier this month and they primarily target e-commerce transactions between Cambodian taxpaying consumers and non-resident sellers active in Cambodian territory but do not have permanent presence in the country.

According to a Phnom Penh Post report, the new rules say that the taxable value is the transaction value, and any form of compensation arrangement other than cash shall also be included in the value, based on market rates.

Tax authorities can also determine the taxable amount if they are not satisfied with the declared amount by the companies.

The new rules complement an earlier law that regulates VAT on electronically supplied goods and services, and is designed in accordance with the E-Commerce Law, which came into force in November 2019.

The government had recently launched a 15-year policy framework for the country's evolving digital sector and it paves the way for a thriving digital economy, as a new engine of economic growth.

Minister Aun Pornmoniroth said the Cambodia Digital Economy and Social Policy Framework 2021-2035 sets out a vision of building a vibrant digital economy and society to foster new economic growth and promote social welfare based on the normalisation of the 'new normal'.

The vision includes the three principles of building a digital foundation, digital capture and digital transformation.

This is also expected to drive the post Covid-19 economic recovery plan for the country.

Meanwhile, the Khmer Times reports that the Ministry of Commerce has called on all foreign enterprises, individuals, legal entities and branches of foreign companies involved in e-commerce to apply for e-commerce licenses before Dec 1.

It said that despite organising outreach programmes, the response has been poor and many companies were yet to apply for their licenses.

The Ministry had been stressing that starting from Dec 1, the sole proprietorship, legal entity and branch of foreign companies that conduct e-commerce business in Cambodia without a license, will face fines.

Their businesses can also be closed down or they may face other penalties.

It said companies can apply for their business licenses through the electronic system.

The Communications and Multimedia Ministry (KKMM) will carry out a transformation on the role of community Internet centres by making them to focus more on digital economy to help the people generate income.

Its minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the ministry would work with telecommunication companies for the purpose, while the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) would provide the training platform.

“Actually, a lot have been done by the community Internet centres, in collaboration with telecommunication companies, in guiding and assisting local residents which have enabled them to participate in digital economic programmes.

"What is left is to expand the programmes and make them more systematic. So our focus is not just on coverage and speed of the Internet, but on applications that can lead to higher income, especially in rural areas," he said when met by reporters after visiting the Kampung Padang Lalang Community Internet Centre here today.

He said digital economy has become a priority for the ministry to help revive the country's economy and to help the people earn income, after being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Annuar said KKMM also planned to increase the number of community Internet centres so that more people, especially in rural areas, would benefit.

"We will increase the number, now there are more than 800 or almost 900. We expect in the near future to have 1,000 Internet centres,” he said.

The Asean Economic Ministers (AEMs) and their dialogue partners have renewed regional economic diplomacy, committing to intensify global efforts to ensure vibrant growth and resilient recovery against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, who is also Minister of International Trade and Industry (Miti), said the commitment was made at the Asean annual consultations with dialogue partners, East Asia Summit member countries as well as various business councils held between September 13 and 15, 2021.

The dialogue partners are China, South Korea, Switzerland, the United States, Hong Kong, China, India, the European Union (EU), Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United Kingdom.

“The overarching theme of the discussion was on efforts to expedite the rejuvenation of the economy from the pandemic, with all AEMs and dialogue partners reiterating the imperative of continuous global cooperation, ensuring equitable access, as well as safe and effective distribution of vaccines.

“We also reprised commitments to keep markets open and ensure the continued, smooth, and sustainable flow of essential goods and services as well as supply chain, while making certain that Asean centrality remains at the forefront,” he said in a statement today.

Mohamed Azmin said during his engagement with the dialogue partners, he highlighted Malaysia’s efforts towards the reopening of the economy through the National Recovery Plan’s vigorous vaccination drive, with the full vaccination of the nation’s adult population expected by the end of October 2021.

“AEMs and the dialogue partners also stressed the importance of taking advantage of the global advancement towards a digital economy. In this regard, in my interventions, I underscored the paramount importance of closing the digital gap for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the region,” he added.

According to Mohamed Azmin, the ministers and dialogue partners also agreed on the need to assist MSMEs in the areas of digital access and financing, to inject economic resilience among businesses in the region, building on the synergies of the Bandar Seri Begawan Roadmap: An Asean Digital Transformation Agenda to accelerate Asean’s Economic Recovery and Digital Economy Integration.

On the agenda for regional economic integration, he said several Asean Plus One free trade agreements (FTAs) which are currently undergoing upgrade processes were discussed.

For the Asean-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA), the need to ensure it remains an ambitious and modern agreement was the key message from the ministers, he said.

The meeting also agreed to conduct a joint feasibility study to review the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) upgrading protocol and welcomed the concept note for a joint review study to enhance the Asean-Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA).

“As for the impending review of the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), the Asean and Indian ministers unanimously agreed that we will put in our best efforts in the scoping discussions for the review to be concluded within the earliest time possible.

“Malaysia, as the country coordinator for Asean-India economic dialogue, is leading the AITIGA consultations,” said Mohamed Azmin.

In reaffirming that Malaysia will continue to be an open economy, with pro-business and pragmatic policies that support the investment climate in the country from the vantage point of National Investment Aspirations, the minister expressed Malaysia’s strong support to these review processes to ensure that the Asean Plus One FTAs remain relevant and competitive globally in order to enhance trade facilitation, expand market access for trade in goods, services and investment as well as intensifying Malaysia’s trade relations with the rest of the world.

The AEMs also welcomed the EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis to the consultations, after a gap of two years, where the continuous support from the EU to the Asean Economic Community through various programmes and initiatives were acknowledged.

The AEMs welcomed the recent conferment of Asean dialogue partner status to the United Kingdom and pledged to continue to work together through the Asean-UK Economic Reform Programme and the Asean-UK Joint Ministerial Declaration on Future Economic Cooperation.

“Malaysia, together with Asean, is committed to redoubling efforts with Asean’s dialogue partners towards collaborating and supporting the various plans and initiatives to reinvigorate and resuscitate Asean as well as the region’s economies going forward, ensuring regional prosperity and sustainability,” he added.

Chinese companies are accelerating their digital transformation and deploying cloud computing, big data and innovative technologies, in order to achieve sustainable growth and stay competitive, according to a new report released by global consultancy Accenture.

The report said 16 percent of interviewed companies can be designated as "Digital Transformation Champions", which have generated more than half of their revenues from new areas of business in the past three years, up from 11 percent of companies in that category in the previous year.

It found the revenue growth of Chinese companies with digital advantages is 3.7 times than that of other peers in 2020.

Moreover, about 27 percent of companies in traditional retail industry and 25 percent of companies in the logistics sector said they will obviously increase investment in digitalization over the next one to two years.

Samantha Zhu, chairperson of Accenture China and a member of Accenture's global management committee, said businesses in China have proven their ability to remain competitive on a global scale. Some 91 percent of executives in China are confident about achieving their growth targets.

The performance gap between digital champions and others within the country, however, is widening each year, Zhu noted.

"This puts digital transformation at the forefront as companies realize how technology investment and implementation can accelerate industry upgrades and continue to drive sustainable growth amid the profound and prolonged impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and disruption," Zhu said.

The research also showed that for companies that continue to lag in expanding their digital capabilities, only 46 percent were satisfied with the integration and collaboration of their supply chains. Furthermore, just 52 percent have launched new products and services in response to new demands, compared with 83 percent of the champions.

Enterprises are speeding up efforts in their digital transformation journeys during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), said Zhu, adding Chinese companies should set a clear digital transformation strategy and continuously and accurately evaluate their performance to find areas for new innovations.

This is the fourth consecutive year Accenture has conducted China Digital Transformation Index research in collaboration with China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team.

Researchers studied 563 Chinese companies across nine industries like electronic components and materials, high-tech electronic manufacturing, automotive and engineering machinery, and medical and pharmaceutical.

At present, the digital economy is booming across the globe. In China, new industries and forms of business buoyed by digital technologies like big data and artificial intelligence are flourishing.

China's digital economy was worth nearly $5.4 trillion last year, ranking second in the world. That represented a year-on-year growth of 9.6 percent, the fastest in the world, according to a white paper released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a government think tank.

Li Wei, deputy head of cloud computing and big data research at the CAICT, said the digitalization of enterprises serves as the cornerstone of a digital economy.

Enterprises should speed up the pace of digital transformation, concentrate on consumers' requirements, integrate online and offline channels, as well as promote the transformation and upgrade of traditional industries, Li said.

Digital trade can accelerate economic recoveries by lowering transaction costs and accelerating time-to-market. For small and mid-sized enterprises in particular (SMEs), it can mean the difference between expanding into global markets or remaining a purely domestic business.

South East Asian countries are in an excellent position to realise the benefits of embracing digital trade. They can jump-start the process by focusing on a few key priority areas.

Digital trade documents really help SMEs
First, governments can remove legal barriers to accepting digital trade documents. Digitising paperwork helps all businesses, but especially the SMEs that research shows have a large and positive impact on job creation. Many SMEs lack the resources needed to maintain voluminous hard copy records of every transaction processed and every permit and certificate applied for. Digital documents alleviate that burden and dramatically cut transaction time.

In the UK, one recent study by the International Chamber of Commerce found that digitising paperwork can improve business efficiency by up to 35%, and for the UK alone would help generate US$34.5 billion ($46.3 billion) in new economic growth for SMEs by 2024.

Huawei is supporting this research in other markets because it makes simple practical business sense to support SMEs through digitalising trade documents and processes Going digital would mean all documentation would be electronic certificates of origin, bills of lading, invoices and payment enabling companies to clear customs procedures much more quickly.

In Singapore, trade finance has already gone digital. Everything from opening a bank account to registering a company can be done online; electronic invoicing and payment make transactions more reliable, accurate and efficient.

Moving toward a ‘Digital RCEP’
Second, Southeast Asian countries can build on existing trading agreements across the regions to embrace digital trade. Last November, Asean member states and selected trading partners signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

For example, RCEP has unified regional rules of origin, which help determine whether an exporter receives preferential treatment under the treaty. Previously, to certify a product’s country of origin according to a mosaic of different rules in different markets companies had to make that product on a dedicated production line and provide a dedicated certificate.

With RCEP, a single production line and one certificate covers an entire region. In a “Digital RCEP”, that certificate would be created, issued and delivered instantly to all checking gates in the customs process saving many days in processing.

RCEP members make up nearly one-third of the world’s population and account for nearly one-third of global GDP. Embracing digital trade documents would accelerate the benefits for SMEs across the region.

Other certificates and processes benefit too. Singapore manages data transfers efficiently across a special network created under a Digital Economy Agreement using certificates authenticating that data protection policies conform to APEC Cross Border Privacy Rules APEC Cross Border Privacy Rules.

Last December, Singapore also became the first to issue digital banking licenses, enabling non-bank entities to offer FinTech services online only. This is another promising development for SMEs.

Talent for a digital world
Digital transformation fuels economic activity across all sectors. Accordingly, it is driving demand for stable, high-capacity broadband connections that enable companies to energise the recovery. There is a particular need to close the digital divide by connecting remote areas to the network, ensuring that everyone regardless of location or income level has fast reliable access to the Internet and to the new opportunities of digital trade.

In addition to infrastructure, another success factor is a digitally skilled workforce. Some leading tech companies provide training programs that help prepare young engineers to work with tomorrow’s most advanced technologies. Opportunities abound for public-private partnerships in this area.

Finally, given the importance of start-ups to the regional economy, support for entrepreneurs will yield a bigger return on investment. Last month, Huawei announced plans to devote US$100 million to help startup companies in the Asia Pacific region seize the opportunities created by digital transformation. The company’s “Spark Program” will benefit young, fast-growing companies in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Southeast Asia is in a prime position to lead on many practical digital trade initiatives and become one of the world’s leading digital trade hotspots by investing strategically in the right policies, infrastructure and support to its SMEs.

It is time to prioritise digital documents, skills and start-ups. The benefits will be considerable and will last for years to generations to come.

Craig Burchell is Senior VP Global Government Affairs at Huawei, Shenzhen in China. He is also the former Global Head of Trade and International Affairs at Philips Electronics, Amsterdam, Netherlands and a trade lawyer of 30 years’ experience. He is an advocate for global trade to share prosperity and for multilateral cooperation to bring equal opportunities and technology for all. Burchell can be reached at craig.burchell@ huawei.com

The United States has asked European countries to delay a proposed digital services tax, according to documents reportedly seen by the AFP news agency.

Anonymous diplomatic sources told AFP that Washington put its case to selected European capitals, arguing the proposed digital tax could derail work on a planned global minimum tax rate.

The new EU tax, to be announced by the European Commission on July 14, "threatens the work undertaken through the OECD/G20 process," the US document said.

"We urge you to work with the European Council and the European Commission" to delay the announcement of the new tax, the document added, referring to the EU authorities tasked with pushing through the EU taxation plan.

The publication of the EU draft "would risk completely derailing the negotiations at a sensitive time," the US document continued.

US targets EU's fiscal conservatives
Negotiations involving 139 countries are currently underway at the OECD in Paris to reach a preliminary agreement on global taxation ahead of a major meeting of G20 finance ministers in Venice on July 9.

Talks will continue with the aim of reaching a final agreement in the autumn.

Diplomatic sources told AFP that the US arguments had been passed on to Germany, as well as the so-called "Frugal Five" members the Netherlands and the Nordic countries, among others. Authorities in the member states concerned refused to officially confirm Washington's move.

These countries, along with Ireland, were previously behind the failure of a similar EU digital tax proposal, which would have resulted in higher taxes being paid in Europe by US tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Facebook.

Although details have not yet been made public, the European Commission insists that the proposed tax would be in line with OECD agreements and would affect thousands of companies, including European ones. It is intended to help finance the EU's €750 billion post-pandemic recovery plan.

Spain is "lagging behind" when it comes to the general population's digital skills, especially women, the country’s Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence told Euronews Next.

Speaking on Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress 2021 in Barcelona, Carme Artigas said the Spanish government was tackling the country’s skills shortage head on.

"Women are still underrepresented in the population that has technological abilities," the minister said.

"The jobs of the future will require not only basic skills, but also specialised skills, advanced skills".

Artigas said digitisation was also lacking for small and medium-sized businesses but that Spain is "absolutely focused" on transforming its economic model, something she said, "needs to be tackled urgently".

"We need to endeavour an important digital transformation of our industry in all the sectors, taking into account big companies, but also small and medium businesses, and also our green transition," Artigas told Euronews Next.

Impact of COVID
She said 43 per cent of the general population lacks digital skills, which has been brought into sharper focus by COVID-19.

"The pandemic has shown us not only the opportunities but also the gaps that still exist in our society. We are talking about digital gaps, socioeconomic gaps and gender gaps," Artigas said.

The Spanish government appears to be serious about its digital transformation, devoting 30 per cent of its coronavirus recovery fund from the European Union to digitalisation.

A report published by the European Commission ranked Spain in 11th place out of the 27 EU member states in terms of its progress on digitalisation.

Technology itself is not ours to take. It is a means for better progress and we need to put people in the centre.
Carme Artigas
Spain's Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence minister

While Spain is mid-table, the 2020 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) report does show the country's relatively rapid progress in the last five years, narrowing the gap with Nordic countries who are leading the charge.

Spain is particularly good, Artigas said, on connectivity, broadband deployment of fibre optics and digital public services, sometimes called e-government services.

In the 2020 DESI report, Spain was ranked as the second-best EU country for digital public services, largely due to the implementation of a digital strategy through its central government in Madrid.

Last year, Spain also unveiled a new digital agenda called Spain Digital 2025.

It will promote the process of a digital transformation in line with the EU’s strategy through public-private collaboration.

It includes 50 measures to be implemented by 2025 involving more than 15 ministries and public organisations.

Spain as a leader in AI
Artificial Intelligence is also key for Spain, a sector Artigas is in charge of.

She said Spain is aiming to be the leader in the development of AI in Spanish as currently there are only AI developments in English.

"We want to put Spain at the forefront of the development of the AI industry around the use of natural language processing in Spanish," Artigas told Euronews Next.

"We really believe that AI is going to provide a lot of opportunities for the development of a more resilient economy with huge opportunities for developing the talent and qualified jobs".

But despite technology and digitisation developing at a fast pace, Artigas is quick to point out where the focus should be.

"Technology itself is not ours to take. It is a means for better progress and we need to put people in the centre," she said.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has chalked out a 1,000-day agenda, aiming to make India a $1 trillion digital economy over the next few years.

This comes amid a change of guard, with Ashwini Vaishnaw taking over as Union minister for electronics and IT, along with Rajeev Chandrasekhar as minister of state.

Key to the initiative will be making India the largest connected nation in the world, bringing coherence into digital governance, simplifying rules and legislations for technology and social media companies, and focusing on building India’s high-tech prowess.

“Our priority is connectivity - we want to make India the largest connected country in the world; the second issue is of digital government, everyone (all government departments and ministries) has apps and websites, but making them coherent to empower Indians is important,” a top government official, who did not wish to be named, said.

The plan focuses on how to expand the digital economy piece, the official added.

As per the new agenda, the other areas of importance are to ma ..

The government wants to make sure that internet in India is open, trusted, safe and accountable, and with minimal government interface, the official added.

High-tech areas and developing skills are other focus areas. The areas identified include AI, Cyber Security, Super Computing, Semiconductors, Blockchain and Quantum Computing.

“Our focus is very clear. We are not going to do everything for everybody. We will focus on areas that we are good at as a nation and be globally com ..

The government wants to make sure that internet in India is open, trusted, safe and accountable, and with minimal government interface, the official added.

High-tech areas and developing skills are other focus areas. The areas identified include AI, Cyber Security, Super Computing, Semiconductors, Blockchain and Quantum Computing

“Our focus is very clear. We are not going to do everything for everybody. We will focus on areas that we are good at as a nation and be globally competitive so we will pick those areas and focus on them,” the official said.

Skills and talent development will be another key focus area as “there has been a surge in the need for talent post-Covid-19 since the digitalisation efforts of companies have gone up,” said the official.

Indian IT companies have seen a sharp rise in revenues, according to Credit Suisse report titled India Market Strategy.

However, there is also a huge talent gap in the 5-12 years’ experience bracket, particularly highly skilled engineers as Software as a Service and global software firms target these, and their supply cannot grow rapidly, it added.

The report forecasts the industry’s wage bill to rise by $13 billion.

As per the government's agenda, it aims to create 1 crore skilled IT manpower in 3 years.

The official also said that getting semiconductors manufacturers and high value-added products is also a key focus area.

As per estimates, by the end of 2021, over 65% of domestic semiconductor demand would be from smartphones, while 68% will be from eight categories, including engine control units, LED lighting, notebooks, GPON (fibre optics), CCTVs, smart energy meters and FPD TVs.

The current global shortage of chips, which has hit several industries including automotive and electronics, has also built a strong case for India to fast-track its own semiconductor manufacturing plans.

“We are focussed on the $1 trillion digital economy aim and we can’t do this until all the pieces are in place,” the official added.

The Philippines is continuing to bank on e-commerce and digital economy to speed up its economic recovery in the post COVID-19 pandemic period.

With the brick and mortar businesses hit by the global pandemic and lockdown measures, Commercial Attache at the Philippine Trade and Investment Centre in Kuala Lumpur (PTIC), Katrina Banzon said e-commerce sector in the Philippines has seen a surge in the midst of the pandemic.

"The Philippines recognises the importance of e-commerce and the digital economy as a key engine of growth and economic recovery,” she said in an interview with Bernama.

Data from Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) showed that e-commerce had contributed 3.4% or US$12bil (RM50.2bil) to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020.

The Philippines is targeting to increase the revenue from e-commerce to US$17bil (RM71.12bil) or 4.3% of the GDP by 2021 and to US$24bil (RM100.4bil) or 5.5% of the GDP in 2022.

The DTI is also aimed to increase the number of e-commerce enterprises from 500,000 in 2020 to 750,000 by 2021, and to one million by 2022.

The e-CONOMY SEA 2020 Report also ranked the Philippines in second, after Indonesia, for the strongest uptake in adoption of e-commerce last year.

"The Philippines is a consumer-driven economy. With its 109 million population, 49 million of whom are part of the workforce, the domestic market of the Philippines is very attractive.

"Now, this consumer market is adopting e-commerce and e-payment faster than ever, with digital transformation happening on both ends of the spectrum (business and consumer). The market potential for e-commerce, especially mobile e-commerce, is really huge!,” she said.

She added that currently there were 163.7 million mobile subscribers in the country, with 76 million active social media users in the Philippines, 75 million in Facebook, 12 million in Twitter, and 6.7 million in LinkedIn.

Banzon said the Philippines has been working to facilitate greater adoption of digital economy.

These include policy regulations and frameworks that seek to support key areas of the digital economy, implement concrete initiatives that provide stakeholders with the opportunity and capacity to participate in the industry, and digitalisation of key government services.

Earlier this year, the government launched the Philippines e-Commerce Roadmap 2022 to boost e-commerce industry and ultimately aimed to create an e-commerce ecosystem that drives industry development, long-term employment, and inclusive growth.

The Business Name Registration System (BNRS) under the DTI reported a significant increase in the number of online sellers that registered their business last year.

From a mere 1,700 names in the first quarter of 2020, the number of online businesses registered increased to around 88,000 by end of 2020.

"As a testament to the growing e-commerce market, the BNRS statistic had tripled to 381% in the first quarter of 2021,” Banzon said.

Regionally, Banzon said the DTI is encouraging Philippine businesses to participate in virtual trade platforms in ASEAN and in the international arena to further drive business-to-business (B2B) interactions.

She added that the Philippines also remain committed to continue working with ASEAN member states in supporting e-commerce and the greater digital transformation agenda of the region, and towards the implementation the ASEAN Agreement on Electronic Commerce targeted this year. 

The Philippines is continuing to rely on e-commerce and the digital economy to manage its economic recovery in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. With brick-and-mortar businesses being hit by lockdown measures, the Philippines’ e-commerce sector has seen a surge in the midst of the pandemic. As a result, the Philippines acknowledges the significance of e-commerce and the digital economy as key engines of growth and economic recovery.

According to data from the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), e-commerce contributed 3.4%, or US$12 billion (PHP599 billion), to the country’s GDP in 2020. The Philippines’ current goal is to increase e-commerce revenue to US$17 billion (PHP850 billion), or 4.3% of GDP, by 2021, and to US$24 billion (PHP1.2 trillion), or 5.5% of GDP, by 2022.

The DTI also intends to increase the number of e-commerce businesses from 500,000 in 2020 to 750,000 by 2021 and one million by 2022. An economy reports also ranked the Philippines second, after Indonesia, in terms of e-commerce adoption last year. The Philippines’ economy is said to be consumer-driven. The Philippines’ domestic market is very appealing, with a population of 109 million people, 49 million of whom work.

Despite falling one notch from last year’s ranking in the Global Innovation Index (GII) report, officials from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said this is still an accomplishment. “Although (the Philippines) GII ranking of number 51 among 132 countries is a step backwards from the upward trajectory since 2014, we believe we are still an innovation achiever. Even if the innovation input went down from 70 to 72, the innovation output went up from 41 to 40,” DOST Undersecretary stated in a virtual presser.

The government introduced the Philippines E-Commerce Roadmap 2022 earlier this year to boost the e-commerce industry, with the ultimate goal of creating an e-commerce ecosystem that drives industry development, long-term employment, and inclusive growth.

OpenGov Asia in an article reported that as Filipinos adapt to digital technology in the midst of the pandemic, the Philippines Trade Secretary believes the country will be the next technological leader in Southeast Asia. “The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) agrees with the Digital Pilipinas Movement that the Philippines has the potential to be a technological leader in Southeast Asia in the future. And, like everyone else here, we know that this can only be accomplished through a whole-of-society approach, that is, all of us working together to rebuild better in the post-pandemic tomorrow,” he said at the Digital Filipinas Movement’s launch. He also cited encouraging statistics demonstrating that the country is “built for e-commerce.”

Last year, the DTI’s Business Name Registration System (BNRS) revealed a significant increase in the number of online sellers who registered their businesses. The number of online businesses registered increased from around 1,700 in the first quarter of 2020 to around 88,000 by the end of 2020, up from around 1,700 in the first quarter of 2020.

As evidence of the expanding e-commerce market, the BNRS statistic tripled to 381% in the first quarter of 2021. Regionally, the DTI encourages Philippine businesses to participate in ASEAN and international virtual trade platforms in order to increase business-to-business (B2B) interactions.

In addition to expanding the country’s economic growth, the Philippines remains committed to working with ASEAN member states to support e-commerce and the region’s larger digital transformation agenda, as well as the implementation of the ASEAN Agreement on Electronic Commerce, which is scheduled for this year.

China’s digital economy grew to 39.2 trillion yuan (about 6.07 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2020, accounting for 38.6 percent of the country’s total GDP and up 9.7 percent year-on-year, according to a report.

The report on the development of the internet in China was released by the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies at the World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, which opened Sunday in Wuzhen, in east China’s Zhejiang Province.

In 2020, the volume of e-commerce transactions recorded in China reached 37.21 trillion yuan, up 4.5 percent from 2019, while the operating income of the e-commerce service sector reached 5.45 trillion yuan, an increase of 21.9 percent year on year, according to the report.

The digital economy has become a key option for countries around the world seeking to hedge against the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to speed up economic and social transformation, said a report on global internet development concurrently released on Sunday, adding that new information infrastructure has gradually become a new driving force for global economic growth.

The 12th Malaysia Plan 2021-2025 (12MP) is expected to take the existing digital inclusivity agenda further to accelerate inclusive development in the country as Malaysia aims to be a regional leader in the digital economy by 2030.

But more can be done to ensure digital advancement which parallels societal and technological developments, particularly in the post-COVID-19 era, said think-tank Social & Economic Research Initiative (SERI) chief operations officer Rashaad Ali.

For starters, he said the government should use the "new oil” - data - as an economic driver as it provides the necessary fuel for emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Computing.

"With data widely accepted as the lifeblood of the digital economy, unlocking the benefits of the digital era will depend on our ability to innovate, compete, and transact across borders,” he told Bernama. "It is certainly encouraging that the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint seeks to strengthen cross-border data transfer mechanisms to facilitate seamless data flows and we look forward to more details on this effort to improve regulatory coherence.”

Secondly, while emphasising that the blueprint specifically sets the goal of Malaysia having the highest number of submarine cable landings in ASEAN by 2025, Rashaad said the government should bridge the digital divide with digital infrastructure, dubbed as "the highways of the 21st century”, by reinstating the cabotage exemption policy for submarine cable repair works.

"This will allow foreign vessels to install and repair submarine cables while developing local capacity, and subsequently encourage more international submarine cable landings in Malaysia.

"It will also allow for shorter repair times resulting in improved connectivity, attract more global data centres to reside in Malaysia, and bolster capabilities of domestic data centre companies,” he said.

Thirdly, Rashaad said skills development is a crucial element to help realise Malaysia’s digital economy aspirations, as jobs in the future would increasingly require a combination of soft skills and hard technical skills.

"While there is an increased demand for skills like data analytics and coding, soft skills such as curiosity, innovation, empathy, and adaptability are equally important, and a hybrid approach must be infused into educational institutions as we work to develop a globally competitive workforce,” he advised.

As the government works towards its vision of trusted, inclusive, and sustainable socio-economic development, Rashaad said SERI welcomes the government’s efforts and looks forward to clarity on the next steps, thus enabling a greater role to be played by civil society, academia, and the private sector.

"The government has many worthy and willing partners in Malaysia’s digital ecosystem, and does not have to execute this vision alone,” he added.

Malaysia’s wider foray into the information and communication technology (ICT) industry had commenced with the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative in 1996.

Realising the importance of leveraging on the advancement of technology, the government has emphasised strengthening the digital infrastructure as it is the fundamental factor to adopt digitalisation and emerging technologies.

Fast forward to November 2020, Malaysia has set up the National Digital Economy and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Council as the highest governance authority that decides on policies, implement and monitor the digital economy as well as implement 4IR strategies and initiatives.

This council seeks to ensure a complete feedback loop by adopting transparent and distinct monitoring and evaluation mechanism.

The recent launch of Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint in February 2021 also marked another milestone in moving Malaysia towards being a high-tech nation.

Under the blueprint, the building of enabling digital infrastructure is one of the key thrusts to accelerate digital economy growth, and it also specifies strategic initiatives to drive digitalisation in ensuring digital inclusion.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the importance of the digital economy in resuming economic activities and ensuring uninterrupted public service delivery, the new norm has heightened the necessity for nationwide broadband services in an effort to ensure connectivity to all.

The implementation of the national digital infrastructure plan known as Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA) since 2020 will increase broadband connectivity, using a comprehensive and holistic approach in optimising resources.

Besides, Malaysia has also made great improvements in enhancing the state and coverage of such foundational infrastructure, as regulatory reforms through the Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing (MSAP) not only have reduced broadband prices but also increased broadband speed.

Knowing that broadband internet networks are a crucial national infrastructure, Malaysia had, in June 2021, declared telecommunication services as a public utility, of which the priority is for every individual to have access to telecommunication services, particularly the internet.

By designating telecommunication services as a public utility, Malaysia is moving ahead in ensuring people and businesses have better access to the internet and be more globally connected.

The initiative will also help to bridge the digital divide, allow the rakyat to learn and experience new and emerging technologies and prepare the youth to be digitally ready.

This will ensure that no one is left behind as the nation moves towards achieving inclusive development.

The National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee recently held a seminar that explored how the digital economy, including digital finance and banking, will be an effective tool to recover the global economy, including Vietnam’s.

Participants at the event shared their views on Vietnam’s digital economy, as well as the advantages, difficulties, and solutions to boost the digital economy, particularly digital finance and banking, to deal with the impacts of COVID-19 and prepare for post-pandemic recovery.

The seminar looked into international experience in this regard and proposed policies to serve the country’s socio-economic development effectively and sustainably. A senior public administration expert from the World Bank noted that Vietnam has good infrastructure. However, there remain limitations in bandwidth, transmission quality, mechanisms, and policies.

According to a news report, she suggested that the country invest more in the digital capacity of agencies and businesses, consolidate mechanisms to promote innovations and utilise private resources in digitalisation.

A representative from the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) lauded the progress that the Vietnamese government has made through the digital government programme 2020. They recommended that the country develops and applies smart cloud policies to speed up digitalisation and considers issuing policies to support the process.

Other delegates stated that Vietnam should step up investments in personnel training for digital technology, connectivity, and infrastructure while focusing on building a robust technology start-up ecosystem.

A recent report titled Consumer Payment Attitudes highlighted a growing interest in digital banking and other new payment technologies. It said digital banking has a strong following among Vietnamese consumers, with 77% being aware of it and 31% actually using it. The driver of adoption is the convenience of being able to bank at any time without having to physically visit a bank.

At the same time, there is growing interest in emerging payment methods. Biometric payments using fingerprint scans, voice and facial recognition, and retina scans are subjects of particular interest. 83% of Vietnamese citizens are now aware of the existence of these payment methods and a vast majority are interested in trying them. Numberless cards are also gradually gaining recognition, with 62% of consumers now aware of the existence of this option and 77% claiming they would use them.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given a tremendous push for all forms of cashless payments across small-ticket categories. These trends have found extremely fertile ground among Vietnam’s young and adaptable population, with Gen Z consumers showing significant trust and excitement in new payment services and consumption channels like social commerce, a recent news report quoted an expert saying.

The significant interest shown in digital payments will help drive adoption and put Vietnam on the path to a cashless society, providing advances in safety, security, and convenience.

Earlier in March, the Prime Minister agreed to implement mobile money services on a trial basis. As OpenGov Asia had reported, mobile money will provide the clients who don’t have bank accounts with one more transaction channel. This will help increase the non-cash payment ratio as requested by the government. Mobile money is expected to penetrate the rural market and digitise the agricultural value.

It can help citizens access paid services on the Internet, including healthcare, education, finance, jobs, and social security. To register for mobile money services, users need to show ID cards/passports with the information coinciding with the information in their registered mobile phone subscription and get identified by licensed service providers.

MDEC welcomes government’s focus on digitalisation

Will focus on reducing the digital divide, attracting high quality digital investments

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) welcomes the emphasis on digital and technology for the nation's development in the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP) announced by YAB Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The five-year (2021–2025) plan themed “A prosperous, inclusive, sustainable Malaysia” aims to steer Malaysia out of the Covid-19 pandemic effect and put the economy back on track. Efforts to achieve this will focus on digitalising micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to broaden market access and facilitating strategic and quality digital investment.

The 12MP also includes the positioning of Malaysia as the ASEAN digital centre, given the country’s strong capability in cybersecurity solutions and digital content products.

In a statement, MDEC said it will intensify efforts to encourage MSMEs to adopt digital technologies in production, processes, and business services, mainly in the back-end of business operations.

“The focus on digitalising MSMEs and to position Malaysia as the ASEAN digital centre through the 12MP reaffirms the impact of MDEC’s twin initiatives of #SayaDigital and Malaysia Heart of Digital ASEAN,” said Mahadhir Aziz, chief executive officer, MDEC.

“We will continue to push forward initiatives to establish a progressive and inclusive digital economy in line with our vision as well as the goals of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL),” he added.

MDEC’s initiatives such as eRezeki, eUsahawan and Global Online Workforce have collectively brought more than USD$513.8 million (RM2.153 billion) in income generated. More recently, it has kicked off the 2021 edition of the 100 Go Digital Coaching programme, which aims to enable businesses in key sectors to move towards digitalising their businesses to remain competitive, sustainable, and profitable amidst the pandemic.

[RM1 = US$0.239]

The company kickstarted the Go-eCommerce onboarding and Shop Malaysia online campaigns that will benefit 300,000 local businesses by helping onboard them into eCommerce and ePayment platforms. From 2017 to 2020, it has helped 489,000 SMEs adopt ecommerce, with companies using e-commerce for export growing from 1,800 to 27,000.

The Digital Investments Future5 strategy, a five-year plan focusing on five key thrusts, is aimed at attracting investments and advancing Malaysia’s digital economy. By 2025, MDEC aims to have landed catalytic and high-quality digital investments to unlock new drivers of growth, which will be supported and facilitated by the Digital Investment Office.

Its initiatives are also aimed towards reskilling and upskilling new and existing workforce for the digital economy. The Digital Skills Training Directory, for instance, serves as a one-stop guide to digital reskilling and upskilling via a catalogue of 250 courses and online training providers that have been specifically reviewed and endorsed by its Talent Expert Network.

MDEC has also been key to the development of the Malaysian cybersecurity and digital creative content industry. MATRIX is a collaboration programme between the government and industries to provide solutions with the aim to manage SME cybersecurity challenges and act as a catalyst for the success of SMEs in the era of digital economy.

Since 2019, MDEC has led the development of the Digital Content Ecosystem Policy, which aims to fortify the local digital content industry and position Malaysia as a leader in digital content creation and production.

Now that summer is over, most online businesses are preparing for the holiday season. Up to 73 percent of online retailers have started preparing already. However, most online business feel that they aren’t prepared for the season yet.

Yearly, the holiday season is the busiest moment for online sellers, as orders soar while consumers stock up on gifts. The Ecommerce Trend Report published by Packhelp surveyed over 400 ecommerce businesses in Europe. The gathered data can advise ecommerce companies on how to prepare best for the holiday season, so that they reach a prosperous year’s end.

Brands in UK prepare early
The research states that the least amount of preparation for the season occurred in Q2 and the beginning of Q3 (11 percent). Instead, most online businesses prepare for the holidays around August and September(62 percent). Around 27 percent of companies only start their preparation in October and November. Ecommerce brands in the UK are most likely to start preparing early in late Q2, while companies that wait until late Q3 and Q4 are based in France and other parts of Europe.

Only 4 percent of ecommerce companies are all set for the season

While 50 percent of the companies surveyed say that they have done some preparations, only 4 percent of them claim to be all set for the season. Up to 22 percent admit to being completely unprepared, while another 22 percent say that they are somewhat prepared. According to the survey, the level of preparation that’s been completed also differs from country to country. Up to 39 percent of the respondents that are not prepared at all are based in France.

Strategies to reach higher revenues
While the timelines of their preparations differ, most online businesses use the same strategies to drive more revenue during the holiday season. These center around increasing engagement and reaching new audiences. Up to 27 percent add new products to their range, 17 percent focus on selling via social media and 16 percent update the online experience for their customers. Up to 81 percent of the surveyed companies agree that those not investing in social commerce will be left behind during the holiday season.

European ecommerce businesses bet on free shipping

Additionally, most European ecommerce business bet on free shipping (24 percent), discounts (22 percent) and special add-ons to products (19 percent) to reach higher conversions. While companies across Europe all want to offer the first two strategies, those in France and the UK will pass on unique add-ons and instead use special deals like 2-for-1 sales, which are more popular there.

Not the time to skimp on festive packaging
Implementing strategies to increase conversion do not stop at the counter, ecommerce companies are also optimizing their packaging. Up to 81 percent of the companies surveyed state that they will go all out and order Christmas-themed packaging (36 percent) or add special holiday details to spruce up packaging they use throughout the year, like tissue paper and thank-you cards (45 percent). Only 18 percent of businesses feel comfortable using their usual packaging.

Up to 94 percent of companies will offer sustainable packaging.

Sustainable packaging plays another important role for ecommerce businesses in Europe. Up to 94 percent of them agree that they should offer sustainable packaging. This is of course a response to consumers’ increasing desire to purchase items and support brands that help them to lighten their footprint on the earth.

Malaysia based US fund, Indelible Ventures & EduSpaze in Singapore participate as well

Funds to go into scaling operations in Malaysia & train an additional 8k IR4.0 mentors

FutureLab, an online mentorship platform, and edtech social enterprise announced that it has secured US$478,000 (RM2 million) in Pre-Series A funding in a round led by Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC). Malaysian based US investment group, Indelible Ventures and EduSpaze, Singapore’s first edtech accelerator also participated in this round.

In a statement, FutureLab said that the recent injection will be directed towards scaling up its operations in Malaysia as the company onboards more learning institutions and corporations into its mentoring ecosystem.

It added that the funds will also be used to welcome and train an additional 8,000 IR4.0 mentors who will be integrated into schools, universities, and startup accelerators utilizing the FutureLab platform.

In addition, the company will be looking to expand its product development efforts, providing users with a more seamless experience, including the launch of a new mobile application that includes multiple languages such as English, Bahasa Malaysia, and Bahasa Indonesia.

“FutureLab was founded to help fresh graduates address the disconnect they often experience when transitioning from their studies to joining the workforce. Since then we have grown to offer mentorship opportunities for young working professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs,” said founder of FutureLab, Brian Tan.

“With the support of our new investors, partners, and team, we aim to make mentorship accessible to everyone,” he added.

To combat the growing risk of structural unemployment in Malaysia, FutureLab connects students, graduates, job seekers, and aspiring entrepreneurs to over 3,000 industry mentors across Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia through their online platform. This creates a cohesive mentoring ecosystem that allows for meaningful mentor-mentee relationships to develop, helping individuals achieve their career goals while bridging the knowledge gap between education and the future workforce.

With the launch of its software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model, FutureLab helps learning institutions and corporations design, manage, and track internal mentoring programs.

Ultimately, this ensures that teams at the organizational level are able to experience unique learning opportunities geared towards professional, personal, and even entrepreneurial improvement.

Speaking about the collaboration with the Sarawak Government, Hazwan Razak, head of innovation and entrepreneurship said, “One of SDEC's responsibilities is to act as a catalyst for the Sarawak Digital and Innovation Ecosystem. The shared goal is to ensure that innovation and digital entrepreneurship opportunities are inclusive and available in every corner of the state.”

“Together with FutureLab, we will be embarking on a journey to inspire and support our youths, innovators, startups, and entrepreneurs to fully realise their growth potential, leveraging on FutureLab’s global wealth of expertise,” he added.

Already named Top 50 Innovative edtech companies in S.E Asia by HolonIQ in 2020, FutureLab will be looking to begin its Series A round in the coming year to expand its mentor marketplace and mentoring ecosystem into Southeast Asia.

Brands currently working with FutureLab include Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation , Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre , Accenture, Selangor Information Technology & Digital Economy Corporation, Tabung Emas Gagasan Anak Sarawak, British Council, Sunway University and Taylor's University.

Some 48% of companies adopted digital tech platforms; 19% in 2020

About 85% of companies surveyed say need to reskill their employees

Companies are accelerating the adoption of digital technologies and are accordingly focused on re-skilling and up-skilling their employees in digital technologies and applications, according to a new survey conducted by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).

In a statement, MDEC said that its MDEC Digital Talent Survey 2021 revealed that more companies have adopted digital platforms due to the pandemic.

The survey findings noted that 48% of companies in the country adopted digital tech platforms for day-to-day operations this year compared to 19% in 2020.

With this shift, 85% of companies surveyed recognise the need to re-skill their employees.

Over the past year, the focus has shifted from digital productivity and remote working skills to technical skills such as data analytics, cybersecurity, cloud computing, digital marketing, and software development, MDEC said.

The results of the survey were shared at MDEC’s Digital Talent CEO Roundtable at recently concluded Malaysia Tech Month. The roundtable involved 25 CEOs and C-suite leaders from the National ICT Association of Malaysia (PIKOM), the Malaysia Digital Association and think-tank Social Economic and Research Initiative (SERI).

With regards to recruitment of digital talents, there was consensus that companies are increasingly prioritising skills over academic qualifications, MDEC said.

Francesca Chia, co-founder of GoGet, said the company tended to recruit more fresh hires from coding academies or training centres rather than fresh graduates from universities.

Alejandro Kikuchi, head of Asia for Workana, said companies that were unable to source or recruit suitably qualified talents were hiring freelancers, contract, or remote workers.

The CEOs also discussed the importance of nurturing the future talent pipeline and recognised the need for companies to take a more active role in providing inputs to curriculum and project-based learning.

Henrick Choo, CEO of NTT MSC, noted that the salary growth of digital talents was much steeper than non-digital talents as the experience level grew, even though entry-level salaries may be similar for both digital and non-digital roles.

Industry leaders are also seeing more companies focusing on internal staff mobility, where staff are reskilling and changing roles within the organisation.

Stephanie Sitt, CEO of 123RF Malaysia, cautioned that while digital skills are important, people management skills are just as if not more important in the increasingly remote-working environment.

“In line with MDEC’s vision to create shared prosperity amongst all Malaysians, we are committed to empowering Malaysians with the necessary skills to succeed in an increasingly digitalised economy.

“In this regard, the MDEC Digital Talent CEO Roundtable is an important platform to ensure alignment of our efforts with industry requirements,” said Sumitra Nair, MDEC’s vice president and head of digital skills and jobs.

This is the second Digital Talent CEO Roundtable following the initial one taken place in 2019.

The first roundtable had formed the basis for MDEC’s recent digital talent development initiatives, which included Digital Skills Training Directory, MYWiT, and the digital tech curriculum standards for TVET institutions.

Large power imbalances stalk the growing digital economy as major platforms reinforce their positions in the global data value chain.
The data-driven digital economy is surging. Recent estimates show that global internet protocol (IP) traffic a proxy for data flows will more than triple between 2017 and 2022, according to UNCTAD’s Digital Economy Report 2021 released on 29 September.

The COVID-19 pandemic has markedly increased internet traffic, as many activities have moved online. Global internet bandwidth rose by 35% in 2020, compared with 26% the previous year, the report says.

A growing part of data flows is related to mobile networks. With the increasing number of mobile devices and internet-connected devices, data traffic by mobile broadband is expected to account for almost one third of the total data volume in 2026, the report states.

“But the data-driven digital economy is characterized by large imbalances and divides,” said UNCTAD’s director of technology and logistics, Shamika N. Sirimanne. “As the digital economy grows, a data-related divide is compounding the digital divide.”

Developing countries in subordinate positions
In this new configuration, developing countries risk becoming mere providers of raw data to global digital platforms, while having to pay for the digital intelligence obtained from their data, the report warns.

Only 20% of people in least developed countries (LDCs) use the internet, and when they do, it’s typically at relatively low download speeds and with a relatively high price tag attached, the report says.

Also, the average mobile broadband speed is about three times higher in developed countries than in LDCs. And while up to eight out of 10 internet users shop online in several developed countries, only less than one out of 10 do so in many LDCs.

International bandwidth use is geographically concentrated along two main routes: North America Europe and North America China.

Digital giants reinforce their dominance
The largest digital platforms Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Facebook, Tencent and Alibaba – are increasingly investing in all parts of the global data value chain, the report says.

They are investing in data collection through user-facing platform services; data transmissions through submarine cables and satellites; data storage (data centres); and data analysis, processing and use, for instance through artificial intelligence (AI).

The sizes, profits, market values and dominant positions of the platforms have further strengthened during the pandemic as digitalization has accelerated.

Thanks to privileged access to data, network effects and economies of scale and scope, these platforms have become global digital corporations with planetary reach; huge financial, market and technology power; and control over large swathes of data about their users.

According to the report, Amazon has invested some $10 billion in satellite broadband.

Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft were the top acquirers of AI startups between 2016 and 2020.

Four major platforms (Alibaba, Amazon, Google and Microsoft) accounted for 67% of global cloud infrastructure services revenues in the last quarter of 2020.

By 2022, the share of global digital advertising spending by five major digital platforms Alibaba, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Tencent is expected to exceed 73%, up from 50% in 2015.

New global data governance approach needed
As cross-border data flows become increasingly prominent in the digital economy, UNCTAD has called for a new approach to properly regulate them at the international level.

Currently, entities that can extract or collect data are in a privileged position to appropriate most of the value.

“A new international system to regulate data flows is needed so that associated benefits can be more equitably distributed,” said Sirimanne.

She said the world should pay adequate attention to the current divides that characterize the global digital economy not only between countries, but also between states and enterprises.

Torbjörn Fredriksson, who leads UNCTAD’s e-commerce and digital economy branch says that “the shortage of appropriate skill sets in governments can result in insufficient representation of technical and analytical expertise in legislative and regulatory framework development processes”.

This he says in turn hampers the ability of governments to identify opportunities that could be afforded by digital technologies and potential risks and threats that could emerge, as well as ways to regulate them.

According to the report, less-developed countries also suffer from losing their top talent to developed countries and have smaller representation in setting up the global policy discussion – contributing further to the growing global inequality.

While all countries will need to allocate more domestic resources to the development of their capacities to create and capture the value of data domestically, the report says, many developing countries may need international support due to their limited financial, technical and other resources.

National digitalisation, the recovery of the creative industry and sustainable government communications are the focus of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Ministry (KKMM) in Budget 2022 to ensure that no one is left behind in the digitalisation wave.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the government is responsible for providing infrastructure, encouraging innovation and creating an ecosystem for the people to contribute towards a higher standard of living, which can be enjoyed by everyone in Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family).

He said the KKMM is confident that the RM2.625 billion allocation it is receiving under Budget 2022 can help the Malaysian Family move out of the difficulties faced throughout the Covid-19 pandemic period.

“The time has come for the government to lay a foundation for the country's transformation to a progressive digital economy,” he said in a statement on Budget 2022 on Saturday (Oct 30).

Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, when tabling Budget 2022 in the Dewan Rakyat on Friday, said the National Digital Network (JENDELA) initiative will be intensified next year with a provision of RM700 million to continue with efforts on digital connectivity in 47 industrial areas and 630 schools, especially in rural areas.

In 2022, Annuar said, the 5G service will be expanded to 36% of high-density areas, including in main towns of Johor, Selangor, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak.

“The provision of the 5G service can create a new technological landscape and offer better and faster user experience, thus bridging the digital gap and opening up new job opportunities,” he said.

Annuar said that under the Budget, the government would increase the Digitalisation Grant Scheme initiative for small and medium enterprises to RM200 million, with RM50 million reserved for bumiputera micro-entrepreneurs in rural areas.

To intensify the digital transformation of businesses in rural areas, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission would transform 600 Malaysian Family Digital Economic Centres (PEDi) into one-stop centres for guiding micro-entrepreneurs in using digital technology.

Apart from this, the government would also introduce the Malaysia Digital Nomad programme to create a community and ecosystem for digital nomads in Malaysia by using the tourism sector as a catalyst, he said.

“Digital nomads are those who earn a living online without a permanent physical location. This group has the potential to contribute to the country's economy, especially as tourists,” he added.

Annuar also hoped that the RM450 million allocation by the government and the RM65 million commitment by mobile service providers for the implementation of the Malaysian Family PerantiSiswa Package would ensure better digital reach for the Malaysian Family.

“Besides, the people can also benefit from the extension of the special individual income tax exemption of up to RM2,500 for purchase of handphones, computers and tablets until Dec 31, 2022,” he said.

He said the government's concern for people with disabilities (PwD) is emphasised with the service of sign language interpreters in news bulletins of all television networks, including private stations.

“This initiative undertaken with the help of Bernama will improve access to the media for the PwD group to keep them more in tune with current news and the latest information,” he said.

Meanwhile, Annuar hoped that players and all stakeholders in the creative industry would be more active and aggressive in generating income under the new normal following the allocation of RM288 million for the industry.

He said that next year, the government would launch the RIUH Keluarga Malaysia programme through the RM20 million Investment Loan Matching Fund, which is expected to create 5,000 job opportunities.

The announcement of entertainment duty exemption for all entertainment activities, including at cinemas in all federal territories, and the extension of tourism tax exemption until Dec 31, 2022 would also bring relief to those involved, he said.

“Such efforts will definitely help in the recovery of entertainment activities, which have been badly hit. Budget 2022 will ensure that Keluarga Malaysia will continue to be protected and no one will be left behind in enjoying the country's prosperity,” he said.