At the beginning this month, we were treated to two big news where Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Tesla have decided to invest in Malaysia and set up their presence here. AWS will be investing billions of ringgit to set up a data centre and Tesla will be officially selling their cars, setting up chargers for their cars and establishing a head office.
In a news report by The Star, according to the International Trade and Industry Minister (MITI), Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, the strong foundation of Malaysia’s electrical and electronics (E&E) ecosystem is the reason why Tesla has decided to expand its presence in the country.
This ecosystem also attracted AWS to invest at least RM25.5bil in the country by 2037 to set up their digital infrastructure. The Minister emphasised that Malaysia’s attractiveness to these types of investors is due to its ability to support the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem, rather than the incentives offered.
He also noted that a big part of Tesla’s supply chain comes from Malaysia, and their decision to relocate their business to Malaysia will have a positive impact on the economy, especially for SMEs and any new SMEs that might be created from the supply chain.
He claims that Malaysia is currently the seventh largest E&E and semiconductor market in the world, which makes it an attractive location for investors.
