Malaysia Tells Tech Entrepreneurs to Give It a Second Look
- Digital economy added more than 170,000 new jobs last year
- Government measures to attract investment include tax benefits
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Photographer: Sanjit Das/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
When it comes to tech startup hubs in Southeast Asia, entrepreneurs sometimes look past Malaysia to the lure of Singapore’s vibrant financial center or Indonesia’s attractiveness as the region’s largest economy.
They shouldn’t, said a former Microsoft Corp. executive who’s now in charge of driving the country’s digital economy. Policy makers are serious about developing the sector that created more than 170,000 new jobs and contributed 18.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2017, said Yasmin Mahmood, chief executive officer of government agency Malaysia Digital Economy Corp.