The Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System Link under construction in September.
Photographer: Samsul Said/BloombergUS-China Tech War Fuels Asia Boomtowns Built on AI, Chips
An accelerating influx of tech investment is transforming local economies in Malaysia and Vietnam.
Caravans of sand-filled trucks and bright red cranes punctuate the skyline of a rapidly expanding industrial complex in northern Vietnam. Further south in Malaysia, quiet villages and palm oil plantations are metamorphosing into heavy-duty technological manufacturing estates.
As multinationals, governments and startups rush to develop AI, establish chipmaking hubs and carve out access to raw computing power, the fallout from escalating Beijing-Washington tensions is seeding the tech nerve centers of the future in Southeast Asia and transforming the towns that surround them.