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China has established a working team to push its accession to the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, the Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement on Friday (Aug 19). Signed by New Zealand, Singapore and Chile in June 2020, the DEPA coordinates policies on digital economy, and is the first of its kind in theRead more

The Keluarga Malaysia Digital Economic Centres (PEDi) are more than just internet centres but will lead to greater benefits to Malaysians and the country, Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said. He said the centres will be a national network that will boost the increase in application use and broadband availability in anRead more

The government would be boosting the rural digital economy through Budget 2023 to be tabled this October, said Deputy Finance Minister I, Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah. He said that based on the findings through e-dagang (e-commerce), the increase was 7.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 and valued at RM288.2 billion compared withRead more

Malaysia’s digital landscape is entering a new era of accelerated growth, driven by Malaysia Digital (MD), the government’s national strategic initiative that aims to put the country at the forefront of the digital economy. Launched on July 4, 2022 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, MD is an initiative to accelerate the growthRead more

MALAYSIA’S digital economy is set to be worth US$35 billion (RM156.1 billion) by 2025, says Google Cloud South-East Asia (SEA) MD Ruma Balasubramaniam (picture). Balasubramaniam said the country sits within a very robust SEA ecosystem which is expected to hit US$363 billion and reach a value of US$1 trillion by the end of 2030. “DigitalRead more

Malaysia and Qatar aim to bring their bilateral relationship a notch higher through cooperation in new areas like Islamic financing and digital economy. Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah said as international trade is becoming more complex by the day, both sides need to think of new ways in doing things besides the normal bilateralRead more

Ericsson and DNB 5G rollout to expedite digitalisation and foster inclusive development ERICSSON has reiterated its commitment to support Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) in delivering a world-class network that will become a 5G showcase in the region, while expressing satisfaction with the pace of rollout in Malaysia. The 5G rollout in the country is alreadyRead more

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has introduced the IdeaKita initiative to create and foster 200 new tech companies by the end of the year. MDEC chief executive officer Mahadhir Aziz said the programme is designed to facilitate the journey of budding entrepreneurs in establishing their own tech companies. He said the programme is also partRead more

H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama: The digital economy is the economy of the future on which the pillars of the development process will be based H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama: The new business group will accelerate digital transformation efforts to achieve the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid by consolidating Dubai’s position as aRead more

The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) has praised Jabil Penang’s efforts in accelerating automation and digitalisation initiatives through its partnerships with local vendors in Malaysia. MIDA Chief Executive Officer Datuk Arham Abdul Rahman said following Jabil’s lead, he hopes to see more collaborations, within and across industries, so that the potential of technology can beRead more

The government has developed Malaysia Digital (MD), an initiative to accelerate the growth of the nation’s digital economy, driven by three key principles — flexibility, agility and relevance. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the initiative, via MD Catalytic Programmes (PEMANGKIN), will function holistically in transforming Malaysia’s digital economy ecosystem through three strategicRead more

Experts and insiders called for international cooperation to promote high-quality digital economy development at the 2022 Global Digital Economy Conference, which wrapped up in Beijing on Saturday. Themed “Embrace a Digital Future — New Factors, New Rules, New Patterns,” the three-day conference showcased cutting-edge digital technologies in the metaverse, virtual reality, and holographic projection andRead more

In recent years, many nations have pursued partnerships with the purpose of advancing alliances on emerging and critical technologies. For instance, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between the United States, Japan, India and Australia has a working group on critical and emerging technology, which looks into technical standards, 5G diversification and deployment, horizon scanning and technologyRead more

Surging cross-border data flows require a balanced global governance approach that maximizes development gains, spreads the benefits equitably and minimizes the risks and harms. “Governance is what will determine the outcome of digital transformation,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan said on 25 April at a high-level session of the organization’s eCommerce Week 2022. The event thatRead more

Google on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Telangana government to bring benefits of digital economy to youth and women entrepreneurs, and also kicked off the ground-up development of its three million square foot building in the city. The MoU was exchanged in the presence of Telangana IT and Industries Minister K TRead more

Web 3.0 is the next generation of internet architecture. Make sure your business is ready for the changes this era might bring. Web 3.0 is the third generation of the World Wide Web. It is a network that provides a decentralized, distributed and global control of information. Web 3.0 is the next generation of internetRead more

The emphasis of the new Dubai is on creating a knowledge-based economy. To this end, it has ushered in many reforms, including issuing long-term visas to attract global talent. In fact, the Golden Visa program has become a hit with many young tech-savvy people aspiring to become entrepreneurs. So what attracts them to Dubai? “DigitalRead more

Anyone seeking to manage China’s regional economic integration must proceed with caution, but not without hope. Influencing Asia’s largest economy and political player is not going to be easy, especially given the growth and nature of China–US tensions. Past thinking assumed Asian economic integration could be neatly ordered, as described by the metaphor of ‘flyingRead more

The AsiaForward Startup Day: Exchanging Asia’s brightest ideas organised by Alibaba partner, Handsprofit Sdn Bhd, aims to accelerate digital transformation for local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups in growing their businesses via cloud infrastructure on March 24. According to Tham Lih Chung, executive director of Handsprofit Sdn Bhd, the pandemic has accelerated digitalRead more

The Digital Penang Fintech Hackathon, a collaborative initiative of Digital Penang with its partners Finexus and Touch ‘n Go Digital, was a success. In a statement, the Penang-based government agency said the hackathon was held virtually for two months from November to December 2021 with 35 teams across Malaysia creating a fintech digital product onRead more

The digital economy is influencing the global economy. According to IDC, the output value of the digital economy will account for 62% of the global GDP by 2023, when the world will enter a new era of digital economy in an accelerated way. China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) clearly proposes to “strengthen overall planning forRead more

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) have partnered to further catalyse the growth of Malaysian tech companies. Both parties plan to co-develop technology-based entrepreneur development programmes as well as in the promotion of digital technologies and their adoption among startups and MSMEs and SMEs. They also seek to open upRead more

Malaysia’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Consul-General of Malaysia in Dubai have been recalled by the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) for failing to coordinate administrative and logistical matters during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s visit to the UAE late last month. According to a statement from Wisma Putra onRead more

KSI STRATEGIC Institute for Asia Pacific has called on the ICT industry to invest more resources in creating comprehensive security and quality systems for communications networks and reliable standards against which to assess them. The research institute believes the ICT industry should develop globally accepted, industry-led, security standards along with best practices, security assurance solutionsRead more

“At the same time, the digital economy in India is being pegged at USD 85-90 billion in the calendar year of 2020 and that will see an exponential rise to USD 800 billion by 2030. They should be reaching USD 800 billion in the backdrop of increased internet penetration, rising incomes and also the youngRead more

A recent industry report has highlighted China’s impressive advances in computing power, ranking the country as one of the best among major economies in the field. The report, jointly released by the Tsinghua University, the International Data Corporation and Chinese IT firm Inspur Information, comprehensively assesses the computing power, efficiency, application and infrastructure of 15Read more

SINGAPORE is charging ahead with green and digital economy agreements and is keen to work with Asean members to leverage new opportunities that will emerge from these fields in the coming years. On the digitalisation front, strengthening digitalisation among Asean members is key. Digital trade documentation, for instance, is an important facility that will allowRead more

The global digital economy is developing rapidly, and over 50% of global GDP will be digitalized in 2022. Many countries and regions, like China, South Korea, and the EU, have already announced huge investment plans for the digital economy. As ICT infrastructure providers, operators will play an increasingly important role in leading the development ofRead more

The pandemic shifted how we shop and in a big way. New data from the Adobe Digital Economy Index, which was released during this week’s Adobe Summit, provided one of the most comprehensive reports of its kind. This data filled report provided a number of key metrics including a headline data point showing that U.S.Read more

The future of digital economy is taking shape in the present. As metaverse and AR take centre stage, brands, content creators, innovators and builders of the new world are looking for solutions that help them to create personalization at scale and with precision. At Summit 2022, Adobe launched an array of new innovations for theRead more

Sarawak is going towards a future that no longer depends on gender or race but the ability of a person, said Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg. “When you talk about empowerment you have to see what the future is. When we launched our digital economy, it does not look at gender. Digital economy looksRead more

IN April 2020, Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said, “We’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months. From remote teamwork and learning to sales and customer service, to critical cloud infrastructure and security – we are working alongside customers every day to help them adapt and stay open forRead more

India has been gearing up to become the ultimate digital partner, providing end-to-end, innovative and transformative solutions and services to enterprises across the globe. It faces a historic opportunity to transform into one of the world’s major technology hubs, a report by Asia-based Heinrich Foundation said recently. Today, India is transforming itself into one ofRead more

CULTIVATE BIG-PICTURE THINKING. We are Lifelong Learners.It brings wholeness and maturity to a person’s thinking. It brings perspective. Big picture thinkers are lifelong learners. They are always visiting new places, reading new books, meeting new people, learning new skills. During my period of self reflection, I started to learn insightfully the “World of Metaverse” andRead more

The “Digital Freight Forwarding Market by Mode of Transport, Function, Vertical and Deployment Mode: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering. Digital freight forwarder matches the legacy freight forwarder model on a large scale, not just in terms of favorable pricing but also in terms of end-to-end logisticsRead more

In 2022 Australia will reckon with several of the biggest obstacles it faces. An upcoming federal election, a shift in the standard daily operations in the wake of the pandemic, and an economy that hopes to reinvent itself over the next decade. While these changes could prove challenging for some of the public sector’s grant-awardingRead more

Singapore and Cambodia will expand cooperation especially in new areas of mutual interest such as connectivity, infrastructure development, agri-trade, fintech and digital economy. Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan is in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on an official visit on Tuesday and Wednesday (Feb 15-16), at the invitation of Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister ofRead more

The burgeoning digital economy led the pandemic recovery in South and Southeast Asia.Heavy smartphone penetration is facilitating digitalization in these regions.Greater government support is needed to advance the digitalization process. Digital transformation worldwide was already increasingly changing how companies make and offer their propositions and interact with their customers. But the COVID-19 pandemic has intensifiedRead more

Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa is determined to renew cooperation between Malaysia and Indonesia in the field of telecommunications and information to make it more dynamic in line with rapid changes in the technological landscape. He said the scope of cooperation that could be expanded includes 5G technology, satellite services, undersea cables,Read more

Worldline the European leader in the payments and transactional services industry, announced the integration of Alipay+ into its global portfolio. Through the collaboration, Worldline enhances its payment offering for in-store and e-Commerce merchants across Europe, helping them better serve customers through expanded mobile payments and other digital payment methods. Worldline is the first acquirer toRead more

India’s payments and banking platform for businesses Razorpay has acquired a majority stake in a leading Malaysian fintech firm Curlec for an undisclosed amount. The move marks its first international expansion into South-east Asia and fourth acquisition overall, they said in a joint statement today. Razorpay chief executive officer and co-founder Harshil Mathur said itsRead more

Revenue for the services sector in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021 grew by 5.3 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM460 billion with an annual value amounting to RM1.7 trillion, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM). In a statement today, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increase in the servicesRead more

The Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) has asked digital economy industry players to take full advantage of the #MyMudah Unit set up at the Malaysia Digital Chamber of Commerce (MDCC) to increase their productivity and business performance. Director-general Datuk Abdul Latif Abu Seman said the national and global economic landscapes have continued to shift in viewRead more

Malaysia is assessing the potential benefits of adopting a digital currency, as part of measures targeted at helping the country’s financial services sector capitalise on the new technologies. “We are going one step further by experimenting with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) over the next few years,” Bank Negara Malaysia governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd YunusRead more

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The President of Malaysia Digital Chamber of Commerce (MDCC), Mr. Chris Daniel Wong, brought a delegation from PEMUDAH and VC/PE industry players in Malaysia to have a dialogue with MIDA.Much had been discussed together on how we can improve policy that will contribute to a better financing eco-system for Start-Ups and Mid Start-Ups as wellRead more

The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is collaborating with ASEAN Fintech Group (AFG) to form a strategic partnership to enhance initiatives aimed at scaling up Malaysian fintech companies. In a statement Wednesday (Jan 26), MDEC said the collaborative efforts will focus on three key areas, namely deal flows, fintech ecosystem support and joint amplification. MDECRead more

E-commerce was a driving force in the world economy long before the pandemic struck. Consumers even began avoiding retail stores in favour of mobile delivery apps. However, COVID-19 only expedited the shift to e-commerce that was already happening. In other words, we shouldn’t expect to see a curtailing of online shopping; it will likely onlyRead more

A digital economic plan at the state level will be coordinated through the National Council of Digital Economy and Fourth Industrial Revolution (MED4IR) to ensure the implementation mechanism of initiatives is closer to the targeted recipients, in line with the Keluarga Malaysia concept. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed saidRead more

The MyDIGITAL initiative, which comes under the National Digital Economy Blueprint, is set to further grow Malaysia’s digital economy into a strategic economic engine of growth, said SAP Malaysia managing director Hong Kok Cheong in a statement. Hong commended the Malaysian government for this “breakthrough yet realistic digital vision which would enhance the economy whileRead more

Global IT company 3i Infotech has announced that they will be building an Edge-as-a-Service (EaaS) digital platform for the ASEAN region in Malaysia. The centralised virtual hub with offerings in areas such as digital trust and security is aimed to help clients leverage cloud at a great scale. The hub forms part of 3i Infotech’sRead more

President Xi Jinping has called for improved regulation and governance of China’s digital economy to guard against its “unhealthy” development as Beijing aims to boost the sector’s contribution to the country’s growth. In an essay in the ruling Communist Party’s publication Qiushi on Saturday, Xi called for focusing on key areas including integrated circuits, displays,Read more

E-commerce and food delivery services have grown by US$7 billion (RM29.28 billion) in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2021, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. He said Covid-19 has changed the business landscape and led to rapid digitisation growth, with many entrepreneurs moving onto e-commerce platforms. “It is clearRead more

If banks fail to take advantage of the potential that innovative technology provides, financial ecosystems risk remaining fragmented, heterogeneous and gaps could form in the infrastructure for criminals to infiltrate. However, today, post-financial crisis and amid the Covid-19 pandemic, financial institutions are utilising a variety of applications to formulate a holistic strategy. Which digital accessibilityRead more

Singapore’s government has for decades curated the nation’s economic future through a group of state-owned champions, shifting direction as needed to stay relevant in the global economy. The triple shock of the pandemic, disruptive tech and climate change is pushing Singapore to rewrite one of the world’s most successful economic models. Over the past twoRead more

The year 2022 will see Malaysia back on track in setting a long-term national economic plan with the mobilisation of several important themes, according to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. These include empowering the digital economy as demanded by the current reality, he said in his special New Year’s message on Friday (DecRead more

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a free trade agreement amongst 15 countries in the Asia Pacific and by far, the world’s largest free-trade bloc to have ever been formed. Kicked in on 1 January this year for 10 countries in the Asia Pacific, it was initiated in 2012 by the Association of SoutheastRead more

Pemudah, or The Special Taskforce to Facilitate Business, has reinforced its role as the public-private sector’s collaborative platform to improve ease of doing business in Malaysia. Pemudah saw a change recently with the appointment of new members from the government and the industry. They include three secretaries-general, namely Datuk Seri Mohammad Mentek from the CommunicationsRead more

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is set to revamp and rebrand the MSC Malaysia initiative as it marks its 25th anniversary this year. Chief executive officer Mahadhir Aziz said the new and improved MSC will seek to accelerate participation in the digital economy and address the concerns on the widening digital divide by providing equitableRead more

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) entrepreneurs should seize the opportunities created through the government’s initiatives to transition from conventional to online business, said Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. The prime minister said various initiatives had been implemented by the government to help entrepreneurs promote their business, including through Budget 2022 which focuses expenditure onRead more

China’s unexpected move today to apply to join a fledging global digital trade pact even as the country tightens up cross-border data flows has raised questions about its intentions. Today’s move followed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s announcement of Beijing’s intention to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) as part of his video address aRead more

Many parts of our daily lives, as well as the way our economy and society are organised and function, are being transformed by digitalisation. The scope and speed with which the digital transition is bringing about change is astounding, and it raises a host of public policy challenges. It’s also altering the nature of policymakingRead more

A total of 600 Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) Digital Economy Centres (PEDi), which are being transformed from existing community internet centres, will focus on generating income and helping the people’s economy, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa. He said the function of community or rural internet centres, which previously only provided internetRead more

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,Read more

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 releasedRead more

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 DigitalRead more

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 SarawakRead more